The Hunted
by Icy Knuckles
Summary: Knuckles and Rouge are attacked by two bounty hunters who won't stop at nothing to eliminate them. With only each other, can they survive long enough to defeat their attackers or will they be terminated? Read on to watch as the hunters become the hunted.
1. Predator and Prey

_After a very long break, Icy Knuckles returns. It should've been obvious that I was not gone for good. I just merely had to take some time off to focus of college life. It's very busy work, and I don't mean all book work either. But I digress. Here's the first installment of my new story, The Hunted. Enjoy!_

* * *

A warm, spring day was afoot on Angel Island. There was a gentle breeze in the air. The birds were chirping and the sun had just risen. The peace and tranquility that could be felt in the air protruded over the entire landscape. Well, almost. Towards the center of the small floating island near the altar where the Master Emerald stood, two anthromorphic creatures could be seen combating. One was an echidna and the other one was a bat.

Knuckles' next punch barely missed as he grazed the side of his rival's face. She, in turn, retaliated by grabbing him by the arm and giving him a rough toss. He slid back but remained on his feet. They now stood, gazing at each other with a look of aggression in their eyes. Rouge's, however, was a little more playful.

"My my, Knuckie! It's not like you to attack first," said Rouge in her normal, flirty tone.

"What can I say? You bring out the worst in me," said Knuckles. "Now, you're not going to beat me as usual; so just go."

"What's with the attitude? You don't like me anymore?" asked Rouge.

Knuckles simply turned his back to her and walked back up to his shrine. When he turned back around, he saw that Rouge was gone. With her out of the way, he kicked back and stretched out in front of the green, glowing rock with his eyes closed.

"You can't be serious. Is that really all that you do every day of your life?"

Knuckles opened his eyes and jumped up into a fighting stance. He looked around for the voice until he finally saw Rouge sitting on top of the Master Emerald as it rotated.

"What are you still doing here?" asked Knuckles.

"I'm enjoying the sun," said Rouge.

Knuckles stared her down with an annoyed look on his face.

"Relax. I don't want your dumb rock. It's just not worth all that you put me through to get it," said Rouge.

"Well, there's nothing else here that you could possibly want; so why do you continue to hang around here then?" asked Knuckles.

Rouge looked almost heartbroken by Knuckles' harsh response, but she quickly reverted back to her normal charming smile.

"Your sunny disposition just warms my heart every time I come up here," she said with glee.

Knuckles understood her sarcasm and chose not to respond.

She took his silence as a sign of defeat. Suddenly, Rouge's ears began to twitch. She looked over towards the forest area that surrounded the shrine. There was a very faint rattling coming from those bushes. At first, she thought that it might just be a forest animal, but the object sounded too big to be any animal that was naturally seen on the floating Angel Island.

"Hey, Knucklehead, I think you have company," said Rouge.

"I know. It's an annoying bat who won't leave me alone," said Knuckles.

Rouge scoffed.

Out of nowhere all of the sudden, a rope flew through the air. It was one of those ropes with weights on both ends. The rope caught Knuckles by the feet and tripped him up. Knuckles fell forward onto the ground. His mouth was filled with dirt. He quickly sat up, spat the dirt out, and ripped the rope in half.

"Rouge, what was that for!" he yelled.

"What? I didn't do anything," said Rouge.

"Face it. There's no one else here. Who else could've done it?" asked Knuckles.

"Duck!"

Rouge pushed Knuckles down as a small dagger flew between her and Knuckles.

"Whoever threw that!" said Rouge.

Knuckles got up again. Twice, someone had taken a shot at him. He was getting a little infuriated.

"Show yourself!" demanded Knuckles.

No one answered his call.

"You sure showed them," said Rouge.

"Who asked you for a smart remark anyway?" said Knuckles.

A small blue sphere rolled up to both of them. In a split second upon stopping at Rouge's heel, it exploded. Both Knuckles and Rouge were sent flying by the blast effect. They both landed on their backs.

"Who the hell is doing this?" asked Rouge.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out," said Knuckles.

"GET DOWN!" Knuckles punched the ground and caused a small tremor. Two figures fell from the bushes. One was a tall, brown male fruit bat and the other was a very perky and voluptuous pink echidna.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked Knuckles.

"Not bad, echidna. I see that you'll prove to be a challenging prey," said the bat. "My name is Valon, and I'm a bounty hunter."

"Don't think that you're off the hook, Rouge," said the female echidna. "My name is Crystal, and I'm taking you down. You have quite a taste for gems, but once I'm done with you, your jewel hunting days will be over. All the world's gems are mine to have."

"I beg to differ, girlfriend," said Rouge.

With that, Rouge lunged herself at her target. She turned and prepared for an aerial roundhouse kick. Before contact could happen, Crystal grabbed Rouge by her boot and punched her to the ground. She then raised her own boot to the air and revealed a needle lodged in the heel. Before she pierced a hole into Rouge's head, Rouge did a quick roll to the side.

"Your blood will be spilled before the day is through," said Crystal.

"Don't you ever shut up?" asked Rouge.

Suddenly, Rouge and Crystal lunged themselves at each other and their tussle erupted into a serious cat fight. Knuckles and Valon were having a similar struggle. Knuckles kept attacking and attacking and Valon kept blocking and blocking his attacks. Valon wasn't even trying to put up a descent fight. It was almost like he wanted Knuckles to attack him. Finally, after several failed combinations, Knuckles tried grappling. He reached for Valon. Valon simply grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the ground. He then tossed an orb at Knuckles that transformed into metal wire. It enshrouded Knuckles so that he couldn't move.

"What do you want from me?" asked Knuckles.

"It's very simple. The nature of my quest is not for money nor dislike but merely a search for a challenge of someone who can prove themselves worthy. Then, after I defeat this admirable opponent, his emerald I will claim as my trophy and proof of my victory. Then, I'll bury you with dignity in an unmarked grave far from here," said Valon.

Knuckles didn't understand all that he said but he understood the part about Valon wanting his emerald.

"You're nuts," said Knuckles.

"Who are you to judge a man solely on his desires?" asked Valon.

"I've heard enough of your mumbo jumbo. If you want my emerald, you're going to have to kill me first," said Knuckles.

"That's but a simple whim. You're not defeated yet. Defeat is only truly claimed when an opponent is completely neutralized," said Valon.

"Well then, you might have a problem because it'll take more than the likes of you to defeat me," said Knuckles.

Knuckles mustered up all his strength and was able to break the metallic bonding wire. The second he was freed, he darted at Valon and grabbed him by the wing. He performed his spiral upper, which sent Valon flying into the bushes. Knuckles quickly dashed over to the bushes where he saw Valon fall only to discover that he had disappeared. Knuckles crept into the woods, keeping his eyes wide open and staying alert for signs of Valon.

"Where are you hiding coward?" Knuckles yelled as he swarmed through the bushes.

"The best vantage point is where the enemy cannot see. That way, they are not able to see me strike."

Valon's voice seemed to be coming from all over the place. Knuckles looked in places he thought he heard Valon talking but he kept coming up empty. As Knuckles checked behind a tree, Valon grabbed him from up high, where he was hiding in a tree and slashed him in the back. He then set a small circular device on Knuckles' back that sent 10,000 volts through his body.

"Gahhh!" Knuckles screamed in agony as the volts brought him to his knees before the device shorted out and fell to the ground. Knuckles' vision was getting blurry and he felt totally depleted. Valon then grabbed Knuckles by under his arms and took off into the air. He circled around Angel Island with Knuckles in tow. He came over to where Rouge and Crystal were still duking it out and gave Knuckles a seismic toss into the ground near Rouge.

"What have you done to him?" asked Rouge. She saw Knuckles' state and gasped. His face was covered in dirt and blood. A large burn spot was present on his back where the electrical device was planted.

"I simply proved myself as more worthy of life than he by defeating him in an honorable and fair battle," said Valon.

"You call that honorable? You use your weapons to weaken and disable him while he uses his bare hands and you call that fair?" Rouge exclaimed.

"The echidna had his advantages. I simply made up for what I lack. For example, in place of his martial arts skills, I have my stealth. While my stealth does provide me with a slight edge, it is no match for his brute force and strength; so I use non lethal weapons to level the playing field. It's all fair," said Valon.

Rouge was suddenly blindsided by Crystal. She tackled Rouge to the ground and started clawing at Rouge's face. Rouge responded by using her boot to kick Crystal in the back and off of her.

Valon was easing over to Knuckles with a switchblade in his hand. Knuckles was still dazed. Conscious, but dazed. He was also completely immobile. He could only watch his attacker approach.

"Hold still. I'm going to carve my name into your skin," said Valon.

"If only I'd let you," said Rouge.

Valon turned and was met by Rouge with an iron boot to the face courtesy of her drill kick attack. Valon's face collided with the ground seconds after impact. Rouge quickly gathered Knuckles' limp body and took to the sky. When they were halfway airborne, Knuckles actually started to slightly move.

"Rouge….thanks," he said in a slightly muted voice.

"Don't mention it. Just do me a favor and lose some weight. You weigh as much your ego," said Rouge with a smile.

Knuckles chuckled softly. "Better my ego than yours," he said.

Crystal ran over to catch up with Knuckles and Rouge. She pulled a crossbow off her back and readied an arrow. "We're not through with you two yet."

Crystal takes aim and fires her crossbow. The arrow is launched with such precision and speed that it instantly rips through Rouge's left wing and continues straight in its path. When the arrow ripped her wing, Rouge shot out of the air in a tailspin formation. She and Knuckles both screamed as they smashed into the edge of Angel Island before going over the edge. As they fell into the sea, Rouge spread her wings and again tried to fly. The wing was far too damaged for her to fly accurately at all. Blood spewed from the opening in the wing and her loss of control slammed her headfirst into the side of the island. Because of the velocity at which they were falling, the impact of the crash caused Rouge to lose consciousness. She let go of Knuckles and began to fall headfirst into the jagged rocks below. Knuckles grabbed Rouge by the hand as she was falling faster than he was. He then gathered up as much strength as he could and glided past the jagged rocks and fell into the rapids below. Knuckles never let go of Rouge's hand.

"Hang on, Rouge. It's about to get worse," he said.

Knuckles screamed loudly as the current pulled him under and pushed them far from Angel Island.

Valon and Crystal gazed over the edge for signs of their opponents. No traces of either of them could be found.

"They are defeated and we are victorious once more," said Crystal, who was now eyeing the Master Emerald. "Can we claim our prize?"

Valon shook his head. "We have no evidence that the enemy has been beaten, my love. It would be cowardly to claim the bounty when prey is still at large. Until we can come up with evidence of their destruction, the prize must remain undisturbed."

Crystal reloaded her crossbow. "Let's go then. I hunger for my bounty. If they somehow do survive, they won't make it far. I'll see to it personally that Rouge gets a quick demise.

* * *

_I've had this story on the drawing board for some time. It's about time I post it since my last two stories met with unfortunate endings. Actually, __Mirrored__ ran into an unfortunate incident that caused it to be deleted. The bad part about it was that I didn't even delete it. I had high intentions on finishing that story but someone felt that I shouldn't and wrecked it. Just know that whoever did this will not ruin any more of my stories. You have my word as an author. Please read and review._


	2. Let the Hunt Begin!

Knuckles awoke with an intense throb in his head and many aches. Not only was his head hurting but almost every part of his body. He never felt banged up like this before. It felt like someone was stretching his skin all over. He tried very hard to move, but he found it very difficult. A stiffening pain hit him the second he tried to move and he stopped what he was doing. Knuckles wasn't about to take this lying down, however. He knew that he was far too vulnerable laying here on his belly. He tried rolling over on his back. With very much effort and very much agony, he turned and stopped on his side. This ended with him falling back down on his face. Knuckles growled at the outcome. He threw himself with all his force and landed on his back this time but with a price.

"Aaaaaah!" Knuckles winced in pain. The arm that he laid on when he turned over just caused him excruciating agony. He felt his arm, and it felt like it was hanging on by a thread. As much as he hated to admit it, it might be broken.

He looked around while he was on his back. He certainly did not recognize any of his surroundings. The current that dragged him here was a whole lot calmer. In fact, the sea had diminished into a small river and Knuckles just happened to wash up on the bank. The Floating Island was nowhere to be found. He turned around to see vegetation and deduced that he's probably in a forest. The trees were plenty as well as tall. The shade they provided tinted the ground in a slight shade of black that kept the sun out but allowed him to see perfectly at the same time.

Knuckles used his good arm for balance and slowly stood up. He groaned and growled as the stiffness and pain shot through his body. When he was finally up, he stretched his limbs for a bit. He then noticed that Rouge was nowhere to be found. He remembered having Rouge's hand before blacking out himself. She was already unconscious due to a bump on the head. He kept her with him as long as he could, but the river could've separated them by miles.

Knuckles eased over to the closest tree he could see with his hand limp at his side and leaned against the trunk. He ignored the pain surging through his body and just focused on coming up with a next step. The first thing on the agenda was to find Rouge. If they were together, they'd stand a much better chance of getting out of here especially since he had a broken arm.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I sure could use her help right about now," Knuckles said out loud.

"I heard that!" said a voice from above.

Knuckles looked up in the trees and saw Rouge looking down at him eating a grapefruit with a smirk on her face. The hole in her wing seemed to have clotted up and started to heal.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

"I was here long enough to know that you need my help," Rouge said happily.

Knuckles groaned. The thought of having Rouge know that he actually needed her made him cringe.

"Well, wipe that smile off your face because you need my help just as much as I need yours," said Knuckles.

Rouge's smile quickly faded and was replaced with a pout.

"I don't need any help. I can take care of myself," she said.

"You don't even know where we are," said Knuckles.

Rouge's silence confirmed that inquiry. She had no clue where she was.

"I don't need any help from you, though," she said still pouting.

"I think that you do," said Knuckles.

"Oh yeah? Give me one good thing that I would need you for," demanded Rouge.

"Your wing. It won't heal right without proper bandaging and since there are no bandages out here, you have to substitute a certain species of plant for bandaging. There's also another plant whose pollen can be used to speed up the healing process. If we're lucky, in a day or so, you'll be able to fly us out of here if we don't find our way out before then," said Knuckles.

"Well, I can help you as well," said Rouge as she edged closer to him. He flinched as she reached at his limp arm. "Don't worry. I'm not going to bite." A glimmer of light bounced off her left fang. She reached for his arm and gently felt it. "Well, you're lucky. Your arm is not broken. It's dislocated. That can be easily fixed."

"Hold on there, Rouge," said Knuckles backing away from her.

"Quit being a baby and let me help you. I know what I'm doing," said Rouge. "I took a training course in field medicine."

"Well, I guess if GUN taught you how to do it, I can at least give you a try," said Knuckles.

Rouge grabbed his arm. "It wasn't GUN. I took an online course."

"What?" Rouge grabbed Knuckles forearm and upper arm and gave them both a jerk. Knuckles screamed out in pain as his arm was lodged back in place. It felt like someone was using his bones for xylophone lessons. As the pain subsided, Rouge let out a giggle.

"For such a tough guy, you sure can scream. I don't think I can get that high and I have a supersonic screech," said Rouge. She tore a piece of cloth off of her skintight black outfit and wrapped it around his elbow. "Here."

"Well, if you wouldn't scare me like that, I wouldn't have to scream," said Knuckles. "An online course?"

"Chill out, sweetheart. I only told you that to see you squirm. Of course GUN taught me. Relax. I wouldn't try to ruin that body of yours," said Rouge with a smirk. "It's way too much fun to bruise it up."

"Knock it off, Rouge. We need to get out of here. If those two bounty hunters were to strike with us like this, we wouldn't last long. We can't go back the way we came and you can't fly us out of here. I guess we have to just keep walking until something happens," said Knuckles.

"You mean before I get eaten by wolves or something?" asked Rouge.

"I'm not that lucky," said Knuckles with a smirk.

Rouge scoffed then turned away and pouted. "I'm not going to take that. Either you apologize or I stay right here."

"Suit yourself."

Knuckles walked off into the forest, leaving Rouge standing there all alone. Rouge didn't bother moving. She knew that Knuckles had left but didn't bother following him. Her stubbornness was getting the best of her until she heard a ravenous sound. It sounded like a jungle cat tearing its prey. To Rouge, however, it sounded like a wild beast picking taking apart a live creature…. With wings.

"Wait for me, Knuckie!" she shouted. Rouge sped away from the river bank and quickly caught up with Knuckles. She caught up to him in only ten seconds. It was funny because he hadn't made it as far as anyone normally would walking at a steady pace. It's almost like he was waiting for her.

"I'm glad that you decided to come. We need to make haste. Valon and Crystal could be tracking us. Plus, there's no telling how much forest is ahead of us, not to mention what kind of dangerous wildlife are lurking in this forest," said Knuckles.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you'll protect me right?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles didn't respond. He only grunted something that was inaudible and kept moving. Geez. She was just trying to lighten the mood.

"This is going to be a long day," said Rouge.

* * *

Soon after Knuckles and Rouge left, their assailants arrived. Valon glided down from the sky with Crystal in his arms. He landed by the riverbank where Knuckles and Rouge awoke and placed Crystal on her feet. The first thing they noticed was the wet mark left behind in the dirt by Knuckles and Rouge when they washed ashore.

"They were here," said Valon.

"We banged them up pretty good. They couldn't have made it far," said Crystal. "Let's find them and finish them quick."

"Now, where's the honor in that? A battle is only worth the effort you put into it. To finish them quickly would only make the battle meaningless. My battle with Knuckles will be a legendary battle between warriors born. We were destined to fight, and I will not rush my destiny," said Valon.

Crystal just looked at him and scoffed.

"Let the hunt begin!"


	3. Through the Jungle

_I flipped a coin to see what story my next update would be. This one won. Enjoy!_

* * *

Knuckles and Rouge treaded deep into the jungle. The sounds of the jungle environment filled their ears from the howls of the animals to the whistling of the leaves on the ground as they trampled them. They had been walking for about two hours and there seemed to be no signs of civilization anywhere. On a brighter note, Knuckles' dislocation had healed nicely. He still kept on Rouge's bandage, however to make sure that it stayed that way at least for today. Rouge, on the other hand, still had an open wound in her wing. It wasn't bleeding, but there was still much visible tissue damage. Crystal definitely left her mark to be seen. Rouge was also getting tired of walking.

"How much longer, Knucklehead?" she asked. Being a city bat, she was not used to these primitive conditions.

"How should I know? Remember, we're lost here."

Rouge groaned. She hated being lost especially with him. If only she hadn't been hanging around him today, none of this would've happened. Come to think of it, why was she hanging around him in the first place? She had used her desire to get the Master Emerald as a reason once before but now it doesn't seem much like a desire of hers anymore; yet she keeps going back. Why?

As she pondered upon this, she didn't notice that Knuckles had stopped and slammed right into his backside.

"Hey, you big dumb echidna, why did you stop?" she asked.

Knuckles reached down and pulled up a pretty yellow flower from the ground with triangular shaped petals and a short stem covered in thorns. He placed one hand over it like an expert gardner and gave the petals a gentle caressing with his hand. The flower seemed to respond by increasing its bloom depth.

"This is the Basilla Neemic, A.K.A, the Basil Neem plant. A touch of its pollen should keep your wound from getting infected."

Knuckles walked over to Rouge. She watched as he carefully and gently spread the pollen into the wound. The pollen seemed to sting at first since Rouge was wincing in pain but that soon subsided as the pollen seemed to be easing the pain in her wing. She watched Knuckles' eyes as he eagerly applied the remedy. The fire and compassion that she seen burning in them made her skin jump. It really surprised her. All along, her thoughts of Knuckles consisted only of self-centeredness and thick headedness; yet here he is, helping her get back to health. Sure, it was sweet, but she didn't do sweet.

"Thanks, but I can do it myself," said Rouge as she snatched both the flower and her wing away from Knuckles.

Knuckles, in return, just looked at her and shrugged it off.

"Suit yourself," he said.

Rouge tried with great effort but she couldn't get the rest of the pollen from the flower to flow properly. Half of it ended on the ground or it rolled on her clothes and the other half was hastily on her wound. She just hoped that it worked. After she had completely drained the pollen from the flower, she tossed the flower aside.

"Now what?" she asked.

One more thing before we continue: I want to see if we're close to any civilization so we can figure out where we are. Come here and I'll toss you up in the air," said Knuckles.

"Whoa. Take it easy there, Tiger. We don't want you throwing your arm out of place again. I'll just climb this tree here and see what I can," said Rouge.

With that, Rouge climbed all the way up the specified tree. When she reached the top, she stood on the edge of a branch and gazed out upon the scenery. There was jungle to the left of them and jungle to the right of them. There was jungle as far as her eyes could see. As best as she could estimate, it would take at least another day before they could even have a hope of getting out of it.

"Ahh!" said Rouge. Suddenly the branch that she was standing on broke and she was heading to the ground for an impact. Since her wing was still busted, she couldn't get airborne. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. Upon impact, she felt a sharp stinging sensation, not like one that you would feel after dropping about fifty feet to the ground. It felt a lot better. She also felt a firm hand wrapped around her. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in Knuckles' arms. Unbelievable! She'd been saved again.

"Thanks a lot, Knuckles. Maybe you could carry me around the rest of this forest like this," she said with a wink and a caressing of his cheek.

"In your dreams!" he said as he rudely dropped her on her rear.

"Ouch! That's the last time I let you save me," said Rouge.

"That's fine by me. Now, tell me what did you see," said Knuckles.

"It's forest from here to kingdom come. I saw nothing but forest as far as my eye could see," said Rouge.

"Well, that's just great. We're miles from civilization and have no idea where we are. If that's not enough, there are two crazed bounty hunters after us. What else could go wrong?" Knuckles asked frustrated.

In Knuckles' little rant, he didn't watch his step and fell into a trench. "Damn it!" He screamed.

"Careful what you wish for, Knuckie," said Rouge with glee.

"Shut up!"

Rouge couldn't help laughing at the foolish echidna especially after he dropped her like he did back there. Knuckles quickly scuttled out of that trench over to the other side. Then, he continued his voyage for civilization. Rouge jumped over the trench and caught up with Knuckles.

"Hey, lighten up. I was only having some fun," said Rouge.

"Your words do not bother me. I've learned to ignore you," said Knuckles.

Rouge scoffed. "Then what is it?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"It's this whole situation. While we try to find a way out of here, Valon and Crystal are out there hunting us." He chuckled. "It's almost ironic. We're both skill and well-known treasure hunters. Now, we've become someone's prey.

"I know what you mean. If only we understood why they were after us, then we'd probably be able to figure out a way out of this mess," said Rouge. "Maybe they want your emerald or something."

Knuckles shook his head 'no'. "If they wanted it, they would've taken it by now. The Master Emerald and I have a special bond. I can sense its presence even if we were to be worlds apart. The emerald is still at the shrine, safe and sound."

"I know I've never met them before; so I know that they don't have a grudge with me," said Rouge.

"Neither have I. Valon said that they were bounty hunters. Perhaps someone wants us dead," said Knuckles.

"There's a long list of people who fit that description, and none of them would pay someone else to do something that they would want to do themselves," said Rouge.

"If that's the case, maybe they have their own personal vendettas in this," said Knuckles.

"Yeah. That makes about as much sense as anything else. Crystal did say that she desired all the jewels in the world; therefore, the only way for her to do that would be to terminate the competition. Me."

"Yes, and we must stay two steps ahead of them to make sure they don't find us. Given our current handicaps, we'd be toast for sure. You can't even fly and my body is not fully recovered from that electrical device that Valon hit me with."

"I could hold my own," said Rouge.

"Like you held your own in our previous encounter? Face it. You know I'm right. You just hate to admit it," said Knuckles.

The crazy thing about it was that the crazy echidna was actually right. She wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against Crystal if she were to appear anytime soon. Rather than answering him back with an obvious lie, she decided to remain silent. Soon, Knuckles seemed to forget about the whole thing.

As they trekked the forest, all types of wild life seemed to appear from parrots to tapirs to monkeys. The vegetation was definitely deciduous. After about half an hour, Rouge started to sweat as the climate took a change for the worse. It was definitely at least eighty degrees in this forest and the temperature was not getting any cooler as the day went on. Rouge felt the effects of this sauna and groaned as she hated to sweat.

All of a sudden, Knuckles came to a stop. This time, she stopped a few feet short of bumping into him. These random stops were getting annoying. It wasn't that she didn't want to stop. She was exhausted from walking all day. She needed a good rest. She was just wondering why the random stops.

"What is it?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles looked up at the sky, seeming deep in thought. "It's going to get dark soon. Since the end of this wretched jungle seems to be nowhere in sight, I think that it would be wise to set up camp here for the night."

"Camp? Out here?" asked Rouge nervously.

"No, Rouge. I was thinking of checking into that hotel that all jungles have," said Knuckles with intense sarcasm. "What? Are you scared or something?"

"Of course not. I'm a bat. We dwell in dark places,'' said Rouge.

While that was partly true, that was not the whole truth. Rouge was fearless in the dark. Her only fear was what was lurking in the dark. Her thoughts about all the wild and ravenous animals made her skin stand on end. She did not want to become a meal. Speaking of meals….

"Hey, Knuckles, I'm hungry. Why don't you be a good little boy and go out and find me something to eat? Would ya?" asked Rouge. She gave Knuckles one of her charming winks. She sat down on a log near where Knuckles was standing.

Knuckles frowned. She was not going to make him do all the work while she sat around and watched."I have a better idea. Why don't you go looking for us something to eat and I'll go and round up some firewood."

"But I'm so tired and you're so strong. I'd really appreciate it," said Rouge with a puppy dog face. She was really turning on the charm. Unfortunately, Knuckles wasn't buying any of it. He'd been around her long enough to know what she was trying to pull.

"Either you get it yourself or you go hungry. Like I said, I'm going to get some firewood so we can have a campfire."

"Alright. Fine!" said Rouge in her normal tone with a scent of harshness. "But if I get eaten by a bear, I'm hunting your dreams till you die."

"So that's it. You're afraid of the wild animals. Gee, domestic life sure has left you soft. It's a shame really. I thought more of you," said Knuckles.

"Who's afraid? Not me! I dance with wolves, Knuckie. I'm going to bring back enough to food to feed a village," said Rouge.

Knuckles chuckled. "Enough for two will do. See if you can find any grapes okay?" Knuckles continued laughing as he walked off in the distance.

"I'll show him who's afraid of the……. Wait a minute. Did he just-?" Rouge couldn't believe it. She just got suckered by the most gullible person on the planet. She knew her reputation was definitely hurt with that one. Rouge growled as she walked off in the opposite direction of the one that Knuckles went. She could hear a wild animal howling in the distance. She hesitated to continue but eventually did with much remorse. "Oh, I cannot stand that Knucklehead!" She growled to herself.

* * *

Rouge returned about a half hour later with a load of bananas, limes, grapes, berries, and coconuts on what appeared to be a giant leaf. By now, the sun had retired for the day and the moon and stars came out to take its place. The forest, which was quite noisy during the day had calmed down to a light murmur. Most of the animals had retired for the day and would resume their niche when the sun arose once again. Rouge had no difficulty getting back to their campsite since being a bat granted her an unbelievable nocturnal prowess. It also helped that Knuckles had a fire that she could see from about fifty yards away.

"Did you get my grapes?" asked Knuckles.

"Don't try being cute with me. It's not becoming of you," said Rouge.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You're trying to imply that if I did indeed get those grapes that you have me wrapped around your little finger. You think that I'm controllable. Well, guess what? No one controls Rouge the Bat!" she explained.

"You're even battier than you look. All I did was ask you to get me some grapes. Either you did or didn't. Now, did you?"

Rouge reluctantly pulled a vine of grapes from off the giant leaf and tossed them over the fire to where Knuckles was sitting on the log where she was sitting earlier. She watched as Knuckles tore off about six grapes, toss them into the air, and catching them with his tongue. He did every one of them without fail. She shook her head with a small smile on her face. Never before had she seen the echidna guardian do something so childish. It was so unlike him yet very intriguing to watch.

"Thanks a lot," said Knuckles.

"Yeah, well, I didn't get them for you. I just happened to pass by a tree filled with them and decided to get some. See, I even got some for myself," said Rouge as she picked up another vine of grapes and pulled one off.

Well, thanks anyway," said Knuckles with a soft chuckle. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to sit down? I'm not that big. There's plenty of room for you."

"Sure. Whatever," she said. She came over and sat on the opposite side of the log from Knuckles after grabbing a couple of limes, berries, and a banana. She bit hard into a lime and spit out the pit after swallowing the flesh. She looked over at Knuckles who was now looking down at the fire. Its blaze mirrored in his eyes.

"How'd you light the fire anyway?" she asked.

"It's a simple trick. All you do is rub two sticks together fast enough to create an ignition," Knuckles explained.

"That actually works. I thought it was just another myth that people told their kids when they went camping. I never seen it done before," said Rouge.

"When you live alone on an island, you find the time to try all sorts of things," Knuckles explained. "Did you think that all I did was sit around all day?" he asked.

"Honestly, yeah, I did. You seem so bored to death up there every day," said Rouge as she peeled her banana and started eating it.

"Guarding the Master Emerald is a sacred duty of which I take great pride in. It brings me great respect from my tribe," said Knuckles.

"Still, wouldn't it be nice if you weren't duty bound to protect that emerald for the rest of your life? You should get out and have fun. I sure do," said Rouge.

"And at the end of the day, what will your legacy be?" he asked as he looked up at the stars.

Rouge, intrigued by the echidna's question, began to ponder. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, after all your fun and excitement, what do you have to show for it? Is there anything worthwhile in it for you?" he asked with much sincerity.

"What do you get out of sitting with the Master Emerald all day?" asked Rouge.

"See those stars? Whenever I look up at them, they remind me of my tribe. I honor my tribe by protecting one of the last remnants of its existence, which was coincidentally used to save the world thousands of years ago. Remember last year when the Chaos monster flooded Station Square and Sonic went super to save the world? Well, thousands of years earlier, a noble female of my tribe's ancestry performed the same feat which sealed Chaos in the Master Emerald and thereby saving the world from utter annihilation in the process. That makes it an honor to protect the Master Emerald from imminent harm."

Rouge, needless to say, was surprised by how strongly he felt about the Master Emerald. All this time, she thought that the monetary value of the emerald was what mattered to Knuckles. Was she ever wrong? This new perception of Knuckles added to his already mysterious nature. In a way, he reminded him of her partner, Shadow. Of course, she and Shadow's relationship was strictly platonic. Knuckles, however…

"Rouge?" the guardian asked.

"Yeah?"

"You seem like you have something on your mind," he said.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired. If it's all the same to you, I'm going to turn in now. The sooner we get to sleep, the sooner we can wake up and get out of this place," said Rouge. She made a place for herself by the fire and laid her head in the soft grass.

"You get no argument from me this time," said Knuckles. He went over and propped himself up against a tree so he was sitting facing the fire. "Good night!"

"Night!" she replied.

Within minutes, both hunters were asleep.

* * *

_Sorry it took me so long to update. I guess I'm getting too old for this. The juices are starting to run dry as I continue to write. I have all the ideas in the world but not much writing prowess anymore. I know I'm probably one of the senior members on fanfiction in terms of age as well as one of the veterans. Don't get me wrong. I'm not done yet. It just seems like time is winding down. Anyway, read and review. Thank you for all the reviews and support this story has been shown so far. Do me a favor. When I'm gone, tell my story to those who ask. Tell it truthfully, my mistakes along with my successes, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence._

_ICY KNUCKLES_


	4. Battle in the Bog

_Well, here I go again. I'm here with another update. Before I begin, allow me to clear up something from the last chapter. My little message at the end wasn't a suicidal note or anything to that degree. I was just saying that I always want to be remembered even after I leave fanfiction for my contribution to the Sonic franchise._

* * *

Knuckles opened his eyes and found himself on the edge of a skyscraper. Both his spiky knuckles on each had been shattered and blood protruded from them. His face was very gashed and bruised. His face had been swollen beyond comparison and most of his strength was gone. He only had enough strength to attempt to get back on the rooftop. Knuckles used up all his remaining might to slowly make his way back to the rooftop; however, before he could get his body over the edge, a foot seemed to come out of nowhere and land right on his right broken knuckles.

"Ahhhhhhh!" yelled Knuckles. He was in excruciating pain. The pain caused him to let go of the ledge with that hand so that he was now hanging by one hand only. He looked up for his attacker and saw no one other than Valon. The bat looked down at his prey. He did not smile but rather showed a solemn expression.

"It is over, Knuckles. You've lost. I gave you a fair chance to defend your name and all that you stand for, but you could not. You failed and because you failed, you must pay the price as did your cohort," said Valon. He waved a white lock of fur across his face. The fur was stained in blood. "She died a noble death as will you."

"No," Knuckles said in a faint whisper. He wanted to cry out but he did not have the strength to do so. He knew the lock of fur belonged to Rouge. Even with the evidence staring him blankly in the face, he could not believe that she was gone. Sure, she annoyed him and constantly aggravated him. She even tried to constantly take his most prized belonging, but he still held her close in his heart with all his other friends. Tears rolled down his face as he came to heart with reality.

"So long, my rival. It's been an honor to battle you. I'll be sure to bury you with valor. My only regret is that I cannot offer you a rematch due to the code of the sword. May your death come quickly and painless," said Valon. He placed his foot on Knuckles' other injured hand.

Again, the agonizing pain caused Knuckles to let go of the rooftop. Since he was out of hands, he fell from the building. As he looked up, Valon was getting further and further away by the second. Within seconds, he was absorbed by a dark and clouded abyss of darkness and cold.

Knuckles awoke in a cold sweat with his heart racing. He slowly looked around and saw that everything was like it was. He was still in the forest propped up against the tree and Rouge lay across from him by the smoke. The fire had just recently extinguished leaving behind its trail of smoke. It was all a dream.

Knuckles stretched and arose from his sleeping tree. Despite the horrible sleeping position, Knuckles wasn't feeling any aches or pains the next morning. In fact, he was fine physically for the most part at least. The dream made him feel a little antsy and slightly exhausted. He wondered to himself if it was an omen or just a nightmare. Well, whatever it was, he had to try his best to keep it from coming true.

"Huh?"

Knuckles started hearing footsteps rustling through the leaves on the forest floor. He looked around for anyone who might've been trying to sneak up on them. He searched high and low around their campsite but came up empty-handed. He listened again but the footsteps were nowhere to be heard. It was like they just up and disappeared.

"Perhaps it was just the wind or a wild animal," said Knuckles. He really wasn't feeling too good this morning anyway. After being deprived of his sleep, he just decided to let it be and get some more sleep. He propped himself back up in his original spot and closed his eyes. Destination: Dreamland.

Suddenly, Knuckles eyes widened as something sharp collided with his chest. He looked down and saw a dart implanted in his left pectoral muscle. He removed it as quickly as he could.

"What the hell?"

He stood up in a defensive position. Before he could survey the area, another dart came into contact with his other pectoral muscle. That time, he caught the direction from which the dart came from. It was from up above. He looked up at the tree behind Rouge and saw Crystal perched on the lowest branch of that tree with her crossbow attached to her wrist. She was wearing a tight green tank top with a pair of very short, tight fitting tan cargo pants and some black combat boots with heels. Suddenly, she began to get very blurry as Knuckles began to fall asleep. The two darts were tranquilizers. It was still pretty amazing that it took two darts to take him down even though he was already slightly tired. Knuckles pulled the second dart out of his chest. He was fading fast. He sluggishly stumbled around until he couldn't stand any longer.

"Rouge, wake up," said Knuckles in a slightly inaudible tone. His eyelids closed as he fell to the ground and he was fast asleep in seconds.

"Got him," said Crystal.

Unfortunately for her, Knuckles' thudding sound when he fell caused Rouge to stir and awaken.

"What's going on?" she asked. She looked over and saw Knuckles passed out by the campfire site. She remembered that he fell asleep over against the tree, not laying on his back across from her. She looked over at his body and saw two holes in his chest. She saw that they were fresh since the blood had not clotted yet. Her second clue to the scene came when she saw two darts on the ground beside him. "He's been drugged. But who-"

Rouge was suddenly ambushed from behind by Crystal. She had a garrote wire.

"Surprise!" said Crystal as she wrapped the wire around Rouge's neck and started pulling. The garrote wire was made from a fishing wire; so it was very strong.

Rouge could feel the breath being squeezed from her body. Her eyes felt like they were being pushed out of their sockets. Her face was quickly turning pale. She gagged and wiggled trying to get free to no avail. The wire wouldn't break or loosen. She just felt getting tighter and tighter the longer Crystal held it around her neck. Her strength was quickly leaving her as she became closer and closer to suffocation. She knew that if she did not do something quick, she was done for. Knuckles was right there but was powerless to help her.

"Pathetic. This was my easiest bounty yet," said Crystal. "You know, Knuckles isn't bad looking. You do have good taste, girlfriend." She looked down at Rouge and saw that the struggling had begun to dwindle. It's too bad that once I'm done with you that Valon's going to come and kill him as well. It's a shame really. You didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. OOF!"

Rouge leaned back and gave Crystal the biggest headbutt that she could muster right in her nose. The collision stunned Crystal for a second but she immediately let go of the garrote wire and held her nose. She felt under her nose and discovered blood upon it. Rouge had busted her nose with her head. For that, she had to pay.

Rouge quickly removed the garrote wire from around her neck and gasped for air on her knees. She had almost blacked out there, but her strong will kept her going. Once she was finally able to, she stood back on her feet.

"Bitch!" Crystal screamed. Rouge looked over in her general vicinity and saw Crystal running at her with great speed. She tackled Rouge to the ground. The two sexy females rolled around on the ground in a big tussle, neither one of them really getting control. Soon, Crystal finally gained control and pinned Rouge to the ground, but not for long. Rouge delivered a boot to her torso that knocked Crystal off her. Crystal landed on her feet about two yards back.

"It's going to take a lot more than you have to bring me down," said Rouge.

"We'll see about that," said Crystal as she sniffed some blood back into her nose.

Rouge charged Crystal, which proved to be foolish because Crystal delivered a roundhouse kick that sent her back three feet. Rouge was not done yet. She charged again. This time, Crystal tried another kick, but Rouge caught her foot and gave her a shove. Then, before she could recover, Rouge delivered a kick of her own to the forehead of Crystal. Crystal landed on her back but did not stay down long. She jumped up to her feet and climbed up the nearest tree. Rouge followed suit. Since her wing was still busted, she could not fly. Instead, she used her natural poise and stealthy moves to climb the tree behind her as well as her claws. Crystal clicked her heels together. As a result, two sharp blades protruded the front of her boots. When Rouge was in range, she slashed at Rouge, just barely missing her head. Rouge jumped to the side and caused her to strike the bark in the tree. Crystal, getting more infuriated by the moment, changed tactics. She loaded her arm crossbow with six arrows and launched them one by one at Rouge. Rouge, luckily dodged them all with great acrobatic skill. After the last arrow flew past her, she came around the tree and delivered a screw kick to Crystal. Crystal surprisingly caught her leg and kicked her in her chest. The impact caused Rouge to fall through two tree branches back down to the forest floor.

Rouge arose slowly. The pain in her posterior region was all too great. She just decided to ignore it for the time being. Later, she would make sure that the stubborn echidna gave her a nice massage. She returned her attention back to Crystal, who seemed to disappear for the moment. She looked over for the garrote wire and saw that it was still there. At least she knew she couldn't be scammed into that trap again.

She heard some footsteps behind that tree. She immediately ran behind that tree but saw no one. Instead, off in the distance, she saw and heard Crystal running through the forest.

"Oh no you don't. We're finishing this right now," said Rouge.

She quickly darted after Crystal as fast as her legs would take her. She chased her deeper and deeper into the forest. The shrubs and bushes began to get thicker and plusher the further she chased Crystal into the forest. She knew that she shouldn't have left Knuckles back there by himself but she had to rid herself of this nuisance once and for all. No matter how fast she ran, Crystal stayed ahead of her. She only caught glimpses of her that showed her which direction to run. It was almost like she wanted to be followed. She followed Crystal into a wet terrain. The ground floor was softening the ground as she walked further. Before she realized it, Rouge had found a hill and lost her footing. She fell face forward and slid down the hill into a bog-like area. Her clothing was now fully covered in soot and loamy grime. She stood up, disgusted.

"Eww. It'll take me three showers and two trips to the Laundromat to get all this cleaned off," said Rouge.

"Maybe more when I'm done with you," said Crystal.

Rouge looked around for Crystal, but she struck in the last place Rouge would've expected, above. Crystal pounced on Rouge like a leopard on an antelope. She had another garrote wire ready.

"Not this time," said Rouge.

She swept Crystal off her feet with a sweeper kick and grabbed the garrote wire. Then, she hurled it deep into the bog. Crystal got up and tried to do a twisting kick on Rouge, but she caught it and took Crystal down again. This time, she twisted Crystal's leg, which made her cry out. Crystal reached into her combat boots and pulled a dagger from a hidden holster in her boot. She tossed it into Rouge's shoulder.

"Ouch! You coward!" said Rouge as she let go of Crystal to yank the dagger out of her shoulder.

"What may come off as being cowardly to one might just be tactics to another," said Crystal.

"What do you mean by that?" Rouge asked inquisitively.

"It's no mistake that I led you out here. It was all part of the plan. Think about it. While you were chasing me, there was no one there to protect Knuckles in his unconscious state. As we speak, my Valon is quietly putting an end to your little echidna man. Now, I'm going to do the same to you."

"NO! I won't allow it," said Rouge.

"You don't have a choice."

Rouge screamed in anger as she tackled Crystal into the wet bog. She attacked with great ferocity as she slapped Crystal around the bog. Forehand and backhand slaps told the story as Crystal continued to get hammered. Crystal finally gained an upper hand after she pulled a pin needle out of a holster and stuck it in Rouge's leg. Rouge shrieked as the pain set in. Her shriek drew some unsuspected attention as nearby non-anthromorphic crocodiles. There was a pack of six heading right for the bog. Meanwhile, Crystal had gained the upper hand on Rouge. She kicked Rouge in her chest and started pounding away, making sure to add to the pain already surging through her leg. Rouge wasn't ready to call it quits. She picked up some wet soil and threw it in Crystal's eyes. Crystal stopped clawing at Rouge and began to take the soil from her eyes. Rouge delivered a screw kick which not only knocked blood from Crystal's mouth but also sent her flying across the bog.

"It's time to end this," said Rouge as she walked over to Crystal.

Suddenly, she heard a snarl and turned around to see the group of crocodiles heading right for them.

"This just isn't my day!" said Rouge.

She scurried across the bog with the crocodiles in pursuit. Crystal saw the crocodiles and followed behind Rouge. Crystal lost her traction and slipped in the bog. Rouge turned around and saw the crocodiles closing in on her. This certainly was a turn of events. She almost cracked a smile at the scene. Still something was just not right. Her conscious began to set in. In the end, she decided that it was not right to allow someone to die out of spite. She had to save her.

"Fuck me!" said Rouge. She turned around and ran back for Crystal. Rouge ran back and helped Crystal to her feet. Crystal was still a little dazed from her fall; so Rouge had to nudge her a little to get her to run. She soon snapped back to reality and together, Crystal and Rouge ran to the nearest tree and climbed up. As they were climbing, one of the crocodiles snapped at the girls and just barely missed. Once they were safe, they both panted.

"Are you okay?" asked Rouge.

"I'm fine," said Crystal. "You saved me. Why?"

"It was just the right thing to do," said Rouge.

"Well, I thank you. To show my appreciation, I'll call off my attack for today. You have nothing more to fear from me today," said Crystal.

"Well, that's mighty generous of you," said Rouge sarcastically.

Crystal began chuckling quite evilly. "Of course, I can't say the same about them." She grabbed Rouge by the waist and gave her a shove. Then, she took off behind the back of the tree out of sight from the crocs while Rouge tumbled right down to them. "Until we meet again, Rouge!"

One of the crocodiles opened its mouth and readied itself to engulf Rouge. Rouge screamed as she fell. She tried to flap her wings but to no avail. Her wings still had not fully healed. She knew that if she were to survive, she had to be quick about it. Rouge spread her legs to both ends of the crocodile's snout to keep it from closing on her. Then, she used the croc's mouth as a springboard and was launched on top of the crocodile's head and closed its mouth. As she did that, another crocodile was gearing itself up for a bite. Rouge just did a spinning kick into the side of the crocodile's jaw, which hit a nerve and sent the crocodile falling into the water. After it was down, two more crocs were coming at her simultaneously.

"Screw this," she said.

She used the next two crocs like lily pads and hopped across them. They bit and clawed but Rouge used acrobatics to easily avoid their teeth. A fifth crocodile came up from out under the water. She was not turned at a good enough angle to give the crocodile a kick to the face; so she improvised. She used one of her bat bombs and stuck it in the crocodile's mouth as he struck at her. He bit down on the bomb while Rouge dived into the bog. The explosion caused the crocodile's mouth to fill with smoke. The smoke confused and immobilized the five crocodiles. The sixth one, who had not been affected, started coming at Rouge. She saw the last crocodile and hauled her butt out of the bog as fast as she could. The crocodile was on her tail and quickly gaining. She finally made it over to the hill that trapped her here. The hill was too slippery for her to run up; so she got on all fours, stuck her claws into the soft soil, and bear crawled up the hill. The crocodile took a bite but barely missed. Its arms were too short to climb up after Rouge. She was finally safe.

Rouge breathed a sigh of relief as she started her walk back to Knuckles and the campsite.

"That's why I don't like to play the good guy," she said out loud. "Knuckles, I don't know how you do it." Suddenly, she remembered what Crystal said about Valon. "Shit, I hope he's okay." Rouge began to sprint her way through the forest, praying that she was not too late. She rushed back to the campsite to find that Knuckles was still sleeping peacefully just as she left him. Rouge breathed another sigh of relief. She was glad that Knuckles' was still safe and that Crystal was bluffing. Crystal touched more than a few nerves today. When they meet again, she and Crystal are going to have it out. That is a promise.

"Well, there's not much I can do until Sleeping Beauty here wakes up. I guess I'll just kick back and relax," said Rouge.

She went back over to the log and got comfortable.

* * *

Crystal made her way through the deep shrubbery of the inner jungle and finally came to the end of a cliff. There, Valon was standing in silence overlooking the valley below him. He was quietly meditating to the sound of the waterfall.

"I led Rouge away from Knuckles as you commanded. Did you finish off the echidna?" asked Crystal.

"No."

"What? Then, what was the purpose of all that? I was almost eaten by a crocodile over that bullshit. Look at my outfit. It's ruined. I thought I could at least find some relief in the fact that you did away with Knuckles. Please, explain to me why you didn't take him out?"

"It was not our primary objective," said Valon.

"And I failed to defeat Rou… What primary objective?" asked Crystal.

"When you lured Rouge away, I did make a visit to Knuckles. I planted a tiny homing beacon under one of his dreads. We won't lose them again, my love," said Valon.

"You still haven't explained why you did not do away with him, though," said Crystal. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just kill him right there?"

"Now, where's the honor in that? I already told you that my battle with Knuckles the Echidna will be a noble one. Any coward can kill a helpless prey. It takes real courage and great skill for one warrior to defeat another one face to face. Besides, tomorrow night is Hunter's Moon. That is when I will make my strike. Knuckles and I will battle, and when we do, the heavens will flourish and the underworld will tremble. It is the nobility and strength of will of warriors like Knuckles and I that will one day lead to the destruction of the devil and the glory of the gods." Crystal came up to his side and stood there next to her lover. It was actually his honor that attracted her to him in the first place. She absolutely adored and loved it. With him at her side, she knew that she could do anything she wanted. She wasn't even angry that Valon let Knuckles go. She just hoped that she did not come to regret his decision. "My love, tomorrow is our night. Tomorrow, we end this hunt."


	5. Marshland Encounter

_Yeah, it's your favorite author, Icy Knuckles, checking back in after so long. College really helped me prioritize my life. I'm back in business… for now at least. First and foremost, I want to apologize to all my readers for not updating. I'm coming back at full throttle. Be on the lookout for frequent updates. I don't want to write too much in the chapter prequel so let's just get into it. I gotta brush these cobwebs off._

* * *

Knuckles awoke a couple hours later with a loud moan and groan. He rose to his feet and slowly began to open his eyes. He felt so drained. Those darts had really done numbers on him. His vision was still partially impaired. He blinked a few times real fast and then proceeded to rub his eyes vigorously, hoping to get his sight back fully. He succeeded after a few rubs and was now fully aware of his surroundings.

"Well, it's about time you woke up."

Knuckles turned to find Rouge sitting on a tree limb right above him. She had an apple in her hand that had two holes in it from where she stuck her fangs. He looked at her puzzled. Her clothes were covered in mud and she appeared to be a little battered.

"Do you mind telling me what happened here?" he asked.

Rouge pulled another apple from behind her back and tossed it down to Knuckles. He caught it with one hand. Then, she jumped down to his side. "Take a wild guess," she said.

Knuckles knew what she was getting at. Obviously, Valon and Crystal had attacked. Still, something did not seem right. How is it that he's still alive? Don't get him wrong, he is happy to still be alive. He just don't see how Rouge bested both Valon and Crystal.

"Valon and Crystal attacked?" he asked.

"Crystal did. I saw no signs of Valon anywhere. You should be grateful. He might've killed you," said Rouge.

"No doubt," said Knuckles. How long was I out?"

"I estimate about two hours. I was starting to think you'd never wake up," said Rouge.

"Well, that's two hours of sunlight wasted. I don't know about you but I don't plan on spending another full day lost in this jungle. We need to get moving," said Knuckles. He started walking off.

"I'm right behind you, Sarge," said Rouge.

Rouge followed Knuckles deeper and deeper into the jungle. They had no idea where they were going or when they would see civilization. Hours passed but still no signs of intelligent life. There were a few harmless animals about. Some prowler monkeys occupied a few of the trees as well as some birds. They passed by a small lake where a few hippos were relaxing. They passed by in silence. In fact, few words were spoken between them as they walked. Rouge was busy swatting the small fleas and mosquitoes that she was attracting. This did not sit well with her at all. Being a treasure hunter, she was used to encountering some insects on some of her hunts, but this was a tad ridiculous. It seemed that the further they journeyed, the bigger the insects got. At one point, Rouge saw a mosquito that was about the size of a mouse. Mosquitoes don't get that big in the city. That sight sort of scared her. She scurried ahead and kept close to Knuckles.

"Are we there yet, Knuckie?" Rouge finally spoke after so long of a silence.

"Does it look like we're there?" he said with a little spite in his voice.

"Hey, I'm just trying to stir up some conversation. It's getting really boring just walking behind you and viewing your ugly posterior," said Rouge.

"If you don't want to follow me, that's fine. Go your own way and stay lost in the jungle forever for all I careeeeeee!" said Knuckles. Knuckles was so busy looking back and arguing with Rouge that he didn't see the steep decline in front of him. He slid about twenty yards downhill before he finally landed on level land. He landed on his face, however, and ate a good amount of mud. A few seconds later, Rouge came down the path behind him. She saw the muddy echidna and burst into tears of laughter.

"That's what you get for being such an asshole," said Rouge with a smug look on her face.

"Oh, shut up!" he snapped.

She helped the poor echidna to his feet. As soon as he stood up, he saw light ahead. They had ventured so far into the jungle that the trees had blocked most of the sunlight from getting through to them. The intense light ahead was a sign. The jungle must be ending.

"You see that, Rouge. I think we're out of the jungle," said Knuckles.

"I believe you're right. Let's investigate," said Rouge. The two of them walked towards the light. As they got closer, however, something did not feel right. The ground was getting softer and wetter as they got closer and closer. Still, they were so close that they could not give in to such observations. They kept going until they reached the light. Their smiles were quickly turned upside down when they reached their destination. It was a giant marsh blocking their path. There was no way around but through the water, which would prove to be dangerous since there were visible crocodiles in the distance. Rouge shuddered at the thought of having to cross waters filled with crocodiles ever again. Lucky for her, the bog's waters weren't deep. In this marsh, however, a crocodile could go under and resurface before you could do anything about it. Then, it would be all over. Rouge would rather not take that chance.

"Great! Just great!" said Knuckles furiously. He just had his spirit crushed. At least they weren't in the jungle anymore; so Knuckles considered that a blessing.

"Maybe there's a way around. Unless you think you're strong enough to fight off about ten crocodiles, I suggest we make haste," said Rouge.

"You're right. Be careful, though. The ground is very soft here. You don't wanna get stuck in the silt here and become an entrée," said Knuckles. He started venturing around the edges of the marsh with Rouge right behind him. After about thirty minutes of soft stepping, they came upon a small creek. It was shallow enough to walk in and it led to the other side of the marsh.

"Great. Now, I have to get my clothes wet again," said Rouge.

"Rouge, I swear you sound just like Amy now. Stop whining and come on," said Knuckles. He took the first step into the creek and began wading to the other side.

Rouge, not wanting to be left behind, hurried behind him. The cold marsh water made her skin crawl. It felt so unclean. Thankfully, it only took them about two minutes to cross since the land was so close here. As they traveled through the marsh, they discovered something that they didn't expect to find in this part of the world. There were small huts constructed of sod, soot, and adobe. All of these huts were positioned alongside the marsh banks. There were smelly cods and other fish types hanging up on poles and sticks. There was also a wide assortment of skulls and bones scattered throughout the village.

"What is this place?" asked Rouge. "It gives me the creeps."

"It looks like some kind of primitive tribal village," said Knuckles.

They slowly walked up to one of the huts and looked through the window. There was no one in sight.

"It looks like this whole place is deserted," said Rouge.

"Maybe but I doubt if this place is abandoned. Look here," said Knuckles, pointing at a fireplace in front of one of the huts. "This place still has smoke coming from it. Someone was here recently."

"Well, we need to find them so they can tell us how to get the hell out of here," said Rouge.

Rouge's attention was suddenly diverted to a shiny glow in the distance. This glow was one that was all too familiar to Rouge seeing as how she had seen this kind of glow so many times before in her life on so many of her treasure hunts. In fact, she had even indentified the gem type.

"How lovely!" she said. "I could use another opal stone. They make such great earrings."

Before Knuckles could offer any rebuttal, she was off. Even if that knucklehead had anything to say, she would never give up a chance to get more jewels. It didn't matter what perils were in the way or what kind of jewels were at stake. Rouge never let any jewel in her sight get away. The opal seemed to be propped up on some pedestal. It was hers for the taking. She carefully reached for the opal. She succeeds.

"Score one for Rouge," she said.

Suddenly, Rouge is taken from underfoot by what seemed to be a cargo net. It was cleverly camouflaged with the dirt on the ground. She lets out a scream as she's swept off her feet and hurled into a tree. Knuckles hears the scream and rushes over.

"Rouge, Rouge, Rouge," said Knuckles, shaking his head.

"Oh, shut up! Just get me down from here," Rouge commanded.

Before Knuckles could make another move, he found himself suddenly surrounded by hedgehogs with spears, shields, and tribal knives. They appeared after Rouge was caught in the net. In fact, they had been watching Rouge and Knuckles the whole time. Knuckles did not move. He was completely surrounded. There had to be about twenty hedgehogs here. Most were wearing loincloths and what appeared to be tribal beads around their necks. A few had bones going through their noses and all of them had different shades of dirt that seemed to be melded into their natural skin pigments.

"Umm…. Hello. We were just in the area, and…"

Before Knuckles could finish the sentence, one of the hedgehogs shouted out something in what appeared to be their own tribal language. Knuckles did not understand what was said, but he had a good idea when one of the hedgehogs charged him with a spear. He ducked it and dove out of the way into another the attack range of two more hedgehogs. The hedgehogs raised their spears and were about to drive their spears into Knuckles' chest, but he rolled out of the way. Another net was brought out and thrown over Knuckles. Knuckles squirmed and wriggled to try to get free but he was quickly restrained by some of the hedgehogs. They tied his hands and feet back in a manner so that he couldn't move at all. Then, they lowered Rouge and did the same.

"My hero!" said Rouge sarcastically.

"Cut the sarcasm, Rouge. We've got a situation here," said Knuckles. "Besides, if you hadn't been so greedy, we probably wouldn't have been in this predicament in the first place."

"I know you're not blaming this whole thing on me? If you had just cut me down instead of trying to reason with these guys, maybe we both could've gotten away," said Rouge.

They went back and forth like that as the tribal hedgehogs dragged them through their village. Eventually, they came up to a stage-like platform in the middle of the village. It was covered with blood stains and guts, which smelled really bad. Knuckles and Rouge were then strapped to a pedestal. One of the hedgehogs then blew on a hand crafted horn. The hedgehog audience appeared to be cheering as the horn was blown over and over. Since Knuckles and Rouge were lying down in the center, they could not see what was happening. Suddenly, a path was cleared and a huge hedgehog emerged from the crowd in an executioner's hood. He had to be about three times the size of the regular hedgehogs in both height and weight. He was dragging a huge axe that was already stained with blood behind him. Suddenly, all the bones and skulls made sense.

"They're cannibals!" Knuckles screamed.

Rouge gasped. "This is exactly how I wanted to die."

"Cut the sarcasm and let me think for a second," said Knuckles.

"Newsflash! All we have is a second!" Rouge screamed.

Knuckles thought for a second. "Rouge, your fangs are sharp. If you can roll over and use them to loosen these ropes so that I can move my hands some, I can break this rope and get us out of here."

Rouge didn't argue. She knew this was their only hope of survival. She did as she was told as the axe wielding hedgehog approached them. She leaned over to his rope and began chewing for her life. The rope was strong, though. It wouldn't budge. The axe wielding hedgehog raised the axe above his head.

"Hurry up!" Knuckles shouted.

Knuckles suddenly felt the rope loosen enough for him to move his hands. He effortlessly broke his manacles and caught the axe with his hands as the hedgehog swung it. The tip of the blade was like only an inch from his face. The executioner had some might behind him. It took Knuckles quite a bit of effort to prevent the blade from being lowered any further, but he eventually pushed the axe from his face. Knuckles gave the axe a heave, which knocked the executioner back into the crowd of cannibalistic hedgehogs. Knuckles then broke the ropes that were tied to his legs. One of the hedgehogs rushed Rouge on the platform. Before he could impale Rouge with the spear, Knuckles grabbed her and spun her in a circle, using her feet to kick the hedgehog in the face, thereby knocking him off the platform and back into the crowd. Knuckles then quickly freed Rouge from the ropes. She stood up next to him.

"Way to cut it too close, Knuckie," said Rouge.

"You're welcome," he said.

Knuckles and Rouge had a fight on their hands now. Despite still being physically handicapped, they knew they had to prevail in the end. Even with a busted shoulder and a busted wing, Knuckles and Rouge were still formidable fighters.

The executioner quickly rose to his feet along with the rest of the cannibal hedgehogs.

"I'll take the big one," said Knuckles.

"Great. That just leaves me with twenty," said Rouge.

Knuckles' shoulder wasn't feeling a hundred percent; so when he threw a hook, the executioner only flinched. He really didn't do his usual damage to him. Even at full strength, this wouldn't have been an easy fight. The hedgehog was strong and durable. He charged Knuckles with the axe again. Luckily, he was extremely slow. Knuckles easily dodged the axe. After he dodged, he was grabbed from behind by one of the regular sized hedgehogs. The executioner geared up for another attack. Before the swing commenced, Knuckles broke free and threw the hedgehog in the path of the axe. It wasn't pretty. The hedgehog was split in half.

"You only have nineteen now," said Knuckles.

Rouge was faring quite well despite the fact that she couldn't fly. Her natural agility served as a valuable weapon against oncoming spear attacks. After one of them tried to attack her, she gave him a sweet kick to the chin, followed by a roundhouse to the jaw, which knocked him onto the ground. Rouge grabbed his spear and took off down the trail. She climbed onto one of the huts so that she could have a clear vantage point on all the hedgehogs. She also saw that Knuckles had his hands full. Not only did he have to fight that big hedgehog, but the other ones kept constantly interfering. Their plan of splitting up the fight had backfired. Rouge also knew that the fight didn't have the slightest chance for success unless the big hedgehog was gone. She hopped down from the hut and ran over to the big hedgehog and planted the spear right through his back. The big guy fell to his knees. Much to Knuckles and Rouge's dismay, he only stayed down for about five seconds.

"What the hell is this guy made of?" asked Knuckles with a puzzled look on his face.

"It's no use. I hate to say it but we can't win this fight. We need to find a way out of here," said Rouge.

"You don't have to tell me twice," said Knuckles.

He and Rouge took off through the village. They basically ran through the crowd of regular sized hedgehogs, punching and kicking their way through. Spears were coming at them from all directions, but they showed great agility in avoiding them. The hedgehogs chased them. Their speed was very admirable. No matter how fast Knuckles and Rouge ran, the hedgehogs were right on their tail. One managed to jump on Knuckles' back but was easily shaken off. Unbeknownst to Knuckles and Rouge, there were archers shooting flaming arrows from high places as they ran through the village. They still did not stop running. If they did, they were dead meat. They kept running until they came to the end of the village and as luck would have it, they spotted a raft tied to the back of one of the bigger huts through the village. This was just the thing they needed to escape.

"This is exactly what we need," said Rouge. "Hold them off while I untie this thing."

"Hurry up!" Knuckles yelled.

He ran back to the hedgehogs and did a spinball attack that knocked over about seven of the hedgehogs. He got out of his ball and delivered three quick punches to the nearest hedgehog. He kicked another one in the chest and made two more bump heads. While he wasn't looking, one of the hedgehogs used a hunting knife and scratched Knuckles across the back. Knuckles howled as the sharp pain went through his back. He turned around and punched the hedgehog so hard that he flew into one of the huts, making it collapse around him.

"Now, I'm mad," said Knuckles. "GET DOWN!" He punched the ground and caused a small tremor, making some of the archer fall from their spots and all the other hedgehogs fell to the ground. When they fell, Knuckles saw past them and saw the executioner nearing them. He really did not feel like fighting that big lummox again. "Rouge, hurry it up!"

"Hold on. I think I got it," she said. "Help me push it into the water."

Knuckles ran over and with Rouge, gave the raft a big heave right into the water. They jumped upon quickly before the executioner could reach them. Some of the hedgehogs waded partially into the water after them but never caught up to them. Knuckles and Rouge both hand paddled enough so that they were too far off to be caught by them without swimming. After that, they allowed themselves to be carried by the gentle current of the marsh. It appeared that they were nearing a river. With any luck, this river would take them back to civilization.

* * *

_Well, here's my first update in like forever. Please rate it. I want to know if I've gotten 'soft'. See u next chapter._

_ICY KNUCKLES_


	6. River Rafting

_Well, let's continue this epic tale. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can move on to bigger and better things._

* * *

Knuckles and Rouge were gradually going down the river. The marsh had turned into a river, allowing a current to take them to wherever this river was heading. Just as well. Knuckles knew that going at this slow speed was still better than taking the chance of getting his hand bitten off by some lurking crocodile. Knuckles shuddered at the thought.

It had been about twenty minutes since their narrow escape and Knuckles and Rouge had nothing to say to each other. They both seemed to be in their own worlds, thinking and enjoying the view. The view was actually pretty nice. The sun was shining pretty well despite the fact that they had found themselves back amongst the trees. It wasn't as dense as before though. The ever expanding river also opened up room for sunlight. The further down the river they went, the wider it got.

Knuckles appeared to be meditating. His eyes were closed and he had completely zoned out. The only noise coming from the raft was his breathing and the pitter patter of the water carrying them downriver. Rouge, meanwhile, just sat at the other end of the raft, gazing at the beautiful scenery. She had nothing to say at this point. They had just barely escaped with their lives, and for once, Rouge didn't have anything smart to say. Usually by now, she'd be teasing him about his persona but she knew that without him, she probably would've been dead about now. She tried to shake that thought from her head. The only important thing now was that she wasn't dead yet. She lay on her back for a minute so that she could soak her damaged wing in the river. The cool, rushing water soothed all her worries, aches, and pains away. She lay like that for about half an hour. Feeling refreshed, she sat up only to see that Knuckles was in the same position. She went over and tapped him.

"Hey, Knuckles," she started. Knuckles did not respond. She tried again still to no avail. Rouge, being the kind of girl that she is, hated to be ignored. She smacked Knuckles upside his head, making him open his eyes in a flash. He had anger spelled out on his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked in a raised voice.

"Chill out. You had been like that for almost an hour, and I wanted to know if anything was wrong," said Rouge.

"Your idea of seeing if anything is wrong is slapping me upside my head? You're crazy!" Knuckles retorted.

There was a big, huge vein throbbing in Rouge's head. She would not sit idly by while Knuckles called her names. Who did that knucklehead think he was anyway? She shows a bit of concern about him and he bites her head off. Well, he messed with the wrong girl if he thought she was going to let him get away with this.

"Crazy? Well, Mr. Sane, would a crazy girl do this?" Rouge put up her boot and kicked Knuckles dead in his chest. The impact knocked him off the raft and into the river. Knuckles went under but quickly resurfaced. Thankfully, the current had not picked up to a pace where he could not catch up with the raft. He swam back to the raft and got back on. Rouge looked over at the wet echidna and laughed.

"What'd you do that for?" he asked once he regained himself.

"Because I didn't like your attitude. I was just showing you how crazy I could get. Next time, I'll kick you further away than that. All I wanted to do was ask you if you were okay. Instead of being such a dick, you could've at least heard me out before running your mouth," said Rouge.

"I was in a state of tranquility, trying to rehabilitate my mind, body, and spirit. It takes extreme focus and concentration to find your center. In case you hadn't noticed, these last two days have been nothing under strenuous. We've almost died multiple times, we both have injuries, we have no idea where we are, and to top it off, there are two mad hunters chasing us. I was just trying to relieve myself of some of this pressure. It wouldn't hurt to show a little sympathy.

Rouge smacked him in the back of his head again. "How's that for sympathy?"

Knuckles scoffed in surprise. "Why are you so evil?"

"You make me that way," said Rouge. "You've got to be the dumbest, most insecure person in the world. You can't even tell the difference between when someone is trying to annoy you and when someone is trying to care about you. How was I supposed to know that you were 'rehabilitating'? For all I know, you could've been in a coma."

Knuckles did something next that Rouge did not see coming. He just started laughing. At first, it was a chuckle, but he eventually turned it into uncontrollable laughter.

"What is so funny?" she asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

"You are," he replied.

"What did I do?"

"Think about it. How could I be in a coma when I was sitting up the whole time? A coma would've stretched me out," said Knuckles, finally getting a hold on his laughter.

"Shut up!" said Rouge, giving Knuckles a shove. This time was different, however. This was a playful shove. Rouge began chuckling herself.

"You should've seen your face. You actually thought you knew what you were talking about," said Knuckles.

"I knew what I was talking about. It was a slip of the tongue. That tends to happen to a lot of people," said Rouge. "Remember when Sonic accidentally told Pinky that he cares about her? That was a classic. He'll never get over it."

"He might not have a choice in the matter now. Sonic and Amy are engaged," said Knuckles.

"Really? When did it happen?" asked Rouge. She seemed inquisitive about such a thing.

"A couple of weeks ago. They had been dating for a while. I thought you knew," said Knuckles.

"Nope. I really don't talk to Amy like that. We're not really that close as friends," said Rouge.

"I can see how that's possible. Amy's not exactly the easiest person to get along with. She gets so annoying at times to me as well. One thing's for certain, though. She loves Sonic with all her heart and then some. She will make Sonic very happy. That, I must admit, is one of the qualities I admire and respect about her. She loves with all her heart," said Knuckles.

Rouge looked at Knuckles and sighed. "Yeah!" After that, there was an awkward silence between them. It was cut short, however, by Rouge's outburst of laughter. It wasn't as big as Knuckles' but it still managed to catch his attention.

"May I ask _you_ what is so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just can't remember now why we argued in the first place. It was kind of pointless," she said.

"Most of our arguments are pointless," said Knuckles.

"Why do we argue and fight like this in the first place?" asked Rouge.

"Very simple. You are a greedy, self-absorbed bat who'll stop at nothing to get what you want. Your favorite pastime is making my life a living hell," said Knuckles.

"And you're an egotistical, stubborn echidna who is more gullible than most children and always getting in the way of what I want," said Rouge.

"I guess it's just a part of who we are. It's how we express ourselves and how we feel about each other," said Knuckles.

"We express how we feel by beating each other senseless. Ha, that's just so weird," said Rouge.

"So what does it mean?" asked Knuckles.

Rouge took a moment to respond.

"Rouge?" Knuckles asked but she seemed caught up in her own train of thought. Knuckles tried to get her attention once more. "Rouge?"

Rouge looked up at Knuckles. She gasped.

"What is it, Rouge?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge pointed behind him. He turned around and saw that they were headed for rapids.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Knuckles exclaimed.

They entered the rapids and increased their speed almost tenfold. The raft was moving at an incredible speed now. Jagged rocks appeared in the path. The raft tore as it hit the rocks in certain areas. Knuckles and Rouge were being thrown all over the raft. It was taking everything that they had to keep themselves from falling off. Suddenly, Knuckles looked up and saw that they were headed for a big jagged rock ahead. He screamed.

"Get ready for impact! We're gonna hit it!"

The raft kept sailing ahead at high speeds until...SMASH! It cracked up against that really huge rock and broke, sending Knuckles and Rouge plummeting first into the air and then into the river. The current was so strong that it swept Knuckles and Rouge away. Because Rouge's wing was still busted, she wasn't able to fly them out of the river.

"What are we going to do?" asked Rouge. She and Knuckles were trying their hardest to not smash themselves into a rock. They were going so fast that the impact upon collision could cause bone shattering injuries. Knuckles thought for a second.

"I got it. Give me your hand," he said.

Rouge fought across the current to where Knuckles was steadily drifting at. She reached out and grabbed his hand with the utmost haste. Knuckles then looked an oncoming jagged rock. He used his free hand to swim both he and Rouge over so that they were close to the rock. Then, he used his fist to punch a hole in the rock and embed his knuckles into the stone. The rock was big enough so that they could both fit on it comfortably. Knuckles then tossed Rouge up onto the rock. Then, he slowly pulled himself up and sat down right next to her. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay, Rouge?" asked Knuckles.

Rouge coughed up some water before responding. "Never better thanks to you." She winked her flirtatious wink at him. Then, she surveyed the area. They were in the middle of a river with no way of escaping. The nearest shore was too far away for them to swim without being swept away once more.

"Knuckles, my wing is still damaged. Your 'natural' remedy is taking too long. Can you glide us out of this river?" asked Rouge.

"No, I cannot. It's too far. If I tried gliding that far, I'll surely fall into the river before I reach the shore."

"So we're stuck here?" asked Rouge.

Knuckles did not respond. He merely sighed and realized the inevitable. The only way off this rock was through the water; however, the current is so strong that nothing could withstand it.

Off in the distance, there was a figure coming right for them from the air. At first it appeared to be just a dot, but as it got closer it was obvious that this was an animal. It was a bat.

"Who's that?" asked Rouge, pointing at the figure coming their way. The sun was reflecting off its body; so its physical features were unknown from that distance. As it got closer, it became obvious who the bat was.

"Great! As if we didn't have enough problems," Knuckles mumbled.

Indeed, it was Valon. He was flying at an unprecedented speed. He wasn't even moving that fast when he and Knuckles first fought on Angel Island, which brought Knuckles to the conclusion that he was holding back. Rouge didn't think that bats could fly that fast. Obviously, she was wrong. Valon flew over Knuckles and Rouge and landed on the closest jagged rock that could be stood upon. He turned around and glared at them with an emotionless expression on his face. Knuckles got into his battle stance. Being stuck on a rock in the middle of a rampaging river put him at a great disadvantage especially considering the fact that Valon could fly.

"Relax, Knuckles. I'm here to heal, not hurt," he said.

"You should already know that I don't believe that for a second," said Knuckles.

"It's not in my character to tell a lie. Honesty is very important when establishing the integrity of a warrior," said Valon.

"You want to kill me. You said it yourself," said Knuckles.

"While that is true, the reason I come to you now is not so that we may do battle. Look at your situation. I'd crush you all too easily. That would not be a noble victory. I want you in top form. That is why I've come. To give you this." Valon pulled a jar from behind his back. Within it there seemed to be a light blue glowing substance. "This is my Healing Elixir. One drop of this can heal any wound." Valon flew over to the rock where Knuckles and Rouge stood. He extended his hand and the jar with it. Knuckles did not reach for it. Instead, he threw a punch. Valon easily dodged. He jumped back over to the rock on which he was standing on at first. "I guess you need a demonstration first before you actually believe that I've come to help. Very well." Valon sat the Healing Elixir next to him on the rock. Then, he grabbed his wing. Knuckles and Rouge watched in terror as Valon tore one of his wings off and threw it into the river. He screamed in pain as blood shot from his appendage's former site. The pain brought Valon to his knees. He was in extreme pain.

"This guy is insane," said Rouge. Knuckles kept watching in silence.

Valon reached over with his bloody hands and opened the jar. He then applied the light blue substance accordingly. He singed in pain as the substance touched his open skin. Within a few seconds of applying the substance, Valon was able to stand up again. He turned around to show Knuckles and Rouge the injury. Knuckles and Rouge gasped in amazement. The bleeding had stopped and there was a small bump where his wing once was. "Within the hour, my wing will grow back and be as strong as it can be." Valon then put the lid back on the jar. "Well, if you two don't want to stay there all day, I suggest that you bring yourself and your lady friend over here so that you may be healed, Knuckles."

Knuckles was hesitant at first but then eventually glided over to the rock with Rouge on his back. The three of them could barely fit on the rock together. Valon didn't hesitate to give them their remedy. "Thanks, Valon. I never thought I'd be saying those words," said Knuckles. "How can I repay you?"

"Tonight is Hunter's Moon. Get yourself ready because this will be my only hospitable act towards you, Knuckles. When we meet again, it will be in a noble fight for survival," said Valon. Valon's next move caught them off guard. He pushed them both off the rock and back into the raging river.

"Valon, you double-crossing fiend!" Knuckles yelled as he drifted away.

"You'd better survive, Knuckles," said Valon under his breath.

Knuckles did have the elixir in his hand, however. The only problem was that they couldn't fight this current and there weren't any more jagged rocks big enough to stand on. Rouge was drifting further and further right while Knuckles was drifting further and further left.

"Rouge, try to swim my way. I'm going to try to swim over to you," said Knuckles.

And so, they both started swimming. They seemed to be making no kind of progress. Knuckles looked ahead and saw that the river was coming to an end but that was only because they were approaching a waterfall.

"Damn! This isn't our day," said Knuckles. "Rouge, swim faster."

Before long, they were almost close enough to touch hands. They reached out their hands once they felt they were close enough. Unfortunately, they only touched the tip of each other's fingers before they went over the edge of the waterfall. They both screamed aloud as they fell. The waterfall was steep; so their descent was long. Knuckles tried gliding out of the waterfall but the pressure of the water raining down on them was so intense that he couldn't trap any air under his dreadlocks. He looked around and noticed that he could see Rouge through the water. She had already passed out. Since Knuckles' body was stronger than hers, he could take more of a beating than Rouge. He quickly reached over and pulled Rouge close to him. Then, he wrapped his arms around both the Healing Elixir and Rouge, making sure not to let either one go. Then, he closed his eyes and braced for impact.

Off in the distance, Crystal was watching from atop a deciduous tree as Knuckles grabbed Rouge and they fell into the water below.

"I guess that's that," said Crystal with a smirk. "Now no one is left alive to contest my title as the world's greatest treasure hunter."

* * *

I apologize to any fans who I kept waiting. Please try to understand that I'm trying but it is hard to keep updating when you have so many other priorities to attend to. The real world is no joke. However, please know that I do intend to finish this story as soon as I can. I'll try to kill some time between updates. I had this chapter ready for so long but I had to find an internet source for my laptop. I just moved into my first house (at age 20) and we don't have internet yet.

ICY KNUCKLES


	7. Deja Vu

_Well, what more can I say? Here's the next chapter. Enjoy, my faithful readers. Be sure to review. A guy does need his honest criticisms, ya know._

* * *

Knuckles found himself surrounded in a cloud of black smoke. Even though he was standing in black smoke, however, he could easily see himself and his surroundings. He was beaten to a pulp. His arm was broken, one of his eyes were shut, his knuckles were shattered, and there was a various assortment of bruises and cuts all over his body. He was in bad shape. Standing across from him was a shadowed bat figure.

"Rouge, is that you?" he asked.

The cloaked figure didn't respond. Knuckles tried to move towards it, but the pain was so severe in his body that he could only limp forward. As he limped towards the figure, Knuckles was sure that the figure was Rouge as the cloaked figure started to gain distinguishing features as Knuckles got closer.

"Rouge, what happened?" he asked.

The cloaked figure started to cackle in a deep sinister voice. The voice wasn't Rouge's. It wasn't even female; yet Knuckles knew that he had heard this voice many times before. It sent chills down his spine. The figure took off into the air and disappeared. He was gone.

"What's going on here?" asked Knuckles as he was left standing alone once again. "This is really weird."

Suddenly, a beacon of light from the sky seemed to shoot down in the distance. Luckily, it was not too far in the distance seeing as how Knuckles was barely able to move. Knuckles limped towards the beacon of light. When he got close enough to the light, he was able to make out another figure laying in the light. It was another bat. Because of the light, he could easily make this bat out to be Rouge.

"Rouge!" Knuckles screamed. There was no answer.

He walked closer and closer to Rouge until he was standing right behind her. She was lying face down in the smoke. She was breathing, however. Knuckles turned her over and gasped at the sight before him. It was Rouge, but she was not doing too good. She was shaking uncontrollably and gasping for air. Her eyes were wide open and she looked as if she was surprised. Blood was also gushing from her throat. Knuckles then paid attention to her neck. Someone had slit her throat. She was hanging on by a thread. Knuckles was shocked to find her in this state.

"Hold on, Rouge! I'm going to try to find you some help." He looked around frantically. "Goddamn it! Where is that Healing Elixir?" Knuckles' voice was cracking and his eyes were turning red.

"Why couldn't you beat him, Knuckles? Why couldn't you save me this time?" asked Rouge hoarsely. "Why couldn't you save yourself?"

"Who did this to you?" Knuckles asked. He was trembling at the sight before him. He couldn't bare seeing her this way.

Just as Knuckles finished the sentence, he was met with a boot to the face from nowhere. Knuckles was already in a bad state; so the kick to the face pushed him over his limit. He succumbed to a state of vertigo and fell a few feet from Rouge. Knuckles looked up for his attacker and saw that it was the mysterious bat cloak from earlier. He stood over Knuckles. This time, his body was in the light and Knuckles could clearly see that it was Valon. Something was different about him, too. He seemed to had transformed into a vampire bat. His fangs were sharper and his appearance was more demonic than in previous appearances. Plus, his eyes were glowing red. Valon placed the heel of his boot on Knuckles' broken arm. Since Knuckles was already very injured, the impact of the boot to his face, this was too much for him to bear. He let out a scream so loud that you could've mistakened him for having a supersonic screech.

"Valon, you won't get away with this," said Knuckles weakly as he gasped for air.

"I already have. You are powerless to prevent my victory. It's a shame, really. I expected more from you, but in the end you couldn't protect your lady or yourself." Valon reached behind his back and pulled out his trusty revolver. He walked over to Rouge.

"NO! Please, no. Don't kill her. It's me that you want," pleaded Knuckles.

Valon wasn't listening. He simply walked over to Rouge and aimed at her forehead. Without any hesitation or remorse, he pulled the trigger and shot Rouge directly between her eyes. Rouge gasped for air one final time and eventually stopped moving altogether. Her eyes were still open but her breathing had stopped. She was dead.

Tears flowed from Knuckles' eyes as he watched the horrid event take place. What hurt him the most wasn't the fact that he killed her but the fact that he was powerless to prevent it. That hurt the worst of all. Valon stood over Rouge's body and had himself a hearty evil laugh. He looked over at Knuckles and cocked his gun again. He walked over to Knuckles and put the revolver directly into Knuckles' eye.

"Now, it's your turn," said Valon. His voice changed, however. It sounded very demonic. He walked up to Knuckles and towered over him like a titan. His body was engulfed by the dark shadows of their location. All that remained visible were his eyes, which seemed to be filled with carnage. "This is the end of you!"

With that, Knuckles felt the revolver pressed up against his skull. Then, there was a shot and all went dark. Oblivion.

* * *

Knuckles awoke seconds later and coughed up an extreme amount of water. It took him a couple of minutes to actually regain his senses and realize that he was alive. That dream seemed so real. The first sense to come back was his feeling. He felt the ground and discovered that he was faced down in some sand. He rose to his knees and finished coughing up the rest of the water he had engulfed during their 'ride.' Water came out of his nose and mouth as he coughed. He smacked the side of his head and water came out of his ears. Now, he could hear properly again. The first thing he heard, however, surprised him.

"Car horns?" he asked puzzled. This peculiar sound gave him the will power to open his eyes to see where he was. He was sure that they were still in the jungle until he heard that noise. When he opened his eyes, his thoughts were confirmed. It was 5:00 and the rush hour traffic of Metal City was upon them. "The current must've swept us out of that jungle and onto this beach." Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally out of that nightmare. No more crocodiles, cannibals, or wild animals being killed by hungry predators in the night air. Even though he preferred the peace and tranquility of nature, he admitted to himself that he was glad to be back in the city.

Well, isn't this a surprise? I'm pretty sure we've done this before?"

Knuckles looked around and finally saw Rouge sitting on the hillside close to where the road leading from the beach to the highway was located. "Pretty sure we've done what?"

"This is our second time being knocked unconscious and swept away by a water current. I believe it's our luck," said Rouge.

"Our luck can't be too bad seeing as how we survived both of them," said Knuckles, cracking a small smile. Rouge smiled back. "Are you okay?"

"See for yourself," said Rouge. She hopped off the hill and went airborne. She was finally flying. "The Healing Elixir worked. My wing has been fully healed."

"That's great. Is there any left?" asked Knuckles.

Rouge pulled the elixir from behind her back and showed it to Knuckles. "There's a little bit left." She came down and landed next to him.

"I'll get it later. Right now, I think that it's a good idea to find somewhere we can get freshened up and get a good meal," he said.

"You get no complaints from me on this one, Knuckles," Rouge replied. She handed him the elixir and took to the sky. Then, she grabbed his uninjured hand and off they went. It's a good thing that Rouge could fly because Knuckles could not muster up the strength to glide. He could barely hold onto Rouge's grip. He was still dog tired and wounded since he had not had any of that Healing Elixir. Besides, Rouge could fly a lot faster than he could glide and cover more ground. Rouge flew over all the tallest buildings in the city as she headed for downtown Metal City. She soon came in contact with a bright neon sign that read _Milton Hotel Suites_.

"This place looks fancy enough to inhabit a fabulous diva such as myself," said Rouge.

"Fabulous diva?" Knuckles chuckled. Do you hear yourself when you talk?"

"Look at these ears, Knuckles. I hear everything. By the way, when I awoke, I heard some static coming from your dreads. So I went through them and found a small tracking device lodged under one of them. It looked as though the water had shorted it out. That has got to be how Valon and Crystal were always able to find us," said Rouge.

"Where's the device now?" asked Knuckles.

"I destroyed it and left it on the beach," said Rouge.

"Good riddance... fabulous diva," said Knuckles.

This reply received a smile from Rouge. She and Knuckles seemed to get along fine when they decided to work together. They always have, but now is the first time that she actually noticed. It's like they were polar opposites but the connection she felt with Knuckles was too great to deny. She was always in her best form when she battled Knuckles whether it be with or against him. They were complimentary to each other.

"Do we have enough money to afford a place like this? I barely have any money," said Knuckles. He snapped Rouge out of her daze.

"Well, I never intended on paying anyway," said Rouge with her devilish grin.

"Well then, how are we going to get the room?" asked Knuckles.

"Like this!" said Rouge. She let Knuckles go. He screamed in fear as he fell to the ground.

"Rouge, what the hell are you doing?" he screamed in terror. He was about to go splat when he felt himself stop falling. Rouge had caught him by one of his dreads and was taking him back upwards. "I think my heart just stopped. What was that for?" He was talking while trying to catch his breath.

"I had to get the window open, and I couldn't do it with just one hand," said Rouge.

"You could've just set me on the ledge," said Knuckles.

"Yeah, I could've done that, but dropping you to the ground was the first idea that came into my head and I ran with it," said Rouge.

"I could've been killed!" said Knuckles dramatically. "And watch it. All this pulling on that dread hurts real bad!"

"Yeah, but you wasn't so stop whining so much," said Rouge. They finally reached the window that Rouge had opened and went through it.

"You almost kill me, you're breaking into a hotel, and you pushed me off the raft. Why are you so damn evil?" asked Knuckles.

"Because you like it when I'm bad," said Rouge. She dropped him onto the floor.

Knuckles didn't have a response for that. He was actually glad that the room was dark because he was blushing a bright red at the comment.

Rouge felt around in the dark until she came upon a light switch. She turned it on and revealed a magnificent room with a couch, flat screen television, recliner, king-sized bed, full refrigerator and minibar, chandelier, balcony, and a jacuzzi tub was in the bathroom.

"Nice," said Rouge.

"That's putting it lightly," said Knuckles.

"The best part about it is that it's all free," said Rouge.

"It's stolen, Rouge. It's not right," he replied.

"If you look at it like that, then yeah. I, on the other hand, don't see things as being stolen. I see them as just being there for the taking," said Rouge.

"Well, we need this place tonight, but tomorrow morning, I'm out of here," said Knuckles. "You can do what you want then."

"C'mon Knuckles. You need to loosen up some. Come here. I bet those injuries are getting to you all worked up. Yes, they are," said Rouge in one of those ridiculous baby voices.

"Cut it out, Rouge," said Knuckles. He went over and sat on the couch. He plopped down in a manner so that his broken arm was smashed against the couch arm. "OW!" He screamed out in pain as he held his still broken arm.

"You need to fix that arm before you do anything else," said Rouge. She pulled out the Healing Elixir and opened it. Then, she went over to where Knuckles was sitting and sat right next to him. Knuckles was about to reach for the jar himself but Rouge had already taken some out and began applying it to his broken arm. He shook as the remedy was applied to his arm.

"That is super cold," said Knuckles.

"Quit being a baby," said Rouge as she continued to apply the remedy.

Knuckles watched Rouge work enthusiastically. She seemed so focused on making sure that Knuckles gets better. She really seemed to care about his well-being. He also looked at her from a different perspective as well. She was drop dead gorgeous. How could he have not seen it before? Before, he viewed her as an enemy. Now, she is his ally, who's caught up in the same mess as he is. He felt like the biggest idiot on earth for not realizing what was in front of him all this time.

"How does that feel?" asked Rouge.

"It's soothing," said Knuckles. "I can feel the pain slowly being lifted from my arm."

Rouge giggled lightly. "Well, I do have somewhat of a magic touch." Rouge slid her hand around to his shoulder. When she did this, Knuckles let out a yelp of pain. "What's wrong?"

"It's my back. It's pretty sore after that waterfall beat down on it," said Knuckles.

"Well, there's a little bit of this stuff left. Sit down between my legs and I'll fix you right up," said Rouge. She gave him a flirtatious wink, which made him blush slightly. He hesitated to move. Rouge let out a light chuckle. The nervousness on Knuckles' face was so obvious. This brought a smile to her face. "Come on. I'm not going to bite," she said. "Unless you want me to." She exposed her fangs and licked them.

"Is all that really necessary?" asked Knuckles.

"Oh, yes it is," said Rouge. "When I'm dealing with your uptight nature, I can't ever be serious or else I'd go out of my mind. Why have you been so serious this whole time?"

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, that's like the fourth or fifth time we've almost been killed in two days. I can't let up. If I slip, I might fall. If I fall, I just might die," said Knuckles. He sat down on the floor in front of Rouge. She took it that he was finally lowering his guard and began massaging and listening to him. "This guy, Valon, is no pushover. He's a lot stronger than he lets on to be. I could sense it in him."

"Are you saying that you're scared?" asked Rouge. She was gracefully moving her hands around his back as she pleased. He wasn't wincing in pain at all. His hard, firm back felt great as she walked her fingers through his shoulders and dorsal region.

Knuckles chuckled. "I don't do scared, but I will admit that I'll be on my A game because he just might kill me if I don't." He had his eyes closed and was really into Rouge's massage. It felt good. Real good. "How do you feel about Crystal?"

"I don't feel anything about her. She's tried to kill me already, but I'm willing to let her go under the circumstance that I never see her again. If she thinks that she's going to get a second chance at my life, she's got another thing coming. I'll pull those dreads out her head and reattach them up her..."

"OWW!" said Knuckles. Rouge had sunk her nails into his back.

"Sorry about that," said Rouge.

"I'm glad to see that Crystal doesn't have you uptight," said Knuckles.

"Shut up," said Rouge giving Knuckles a playful shove.

Knuckles laughed at her. "Hey, thanks for nursing me back to health." He stood up and went to stretch. It felt like it's been so long since he's felt like this.

"It was nothing, really," said Rouge. She went over to the sink to wash her hands.

"No, seriously, how can I repay you?" he asked.

Rouge thought for a moment. "If you really want to repay me for this, just loosen up and forget about Valon. Enjoy yourself for me."

Knuckles hadn't admit it, but he was stressing over Valon. It wasn't fear. No, it was something else. Knuckles was just a little on edge because he could pop up anywhere and kill him without him even knowing it. Knuckles knew that he was being hunted down like a wild animal. The worst part was that this was all for sport. There was no just cause or reason behind Valon's actions. Valon was hunting Knuckles simply because he wanted to and nothing was going to stop him. Nothing.

"You know what? You're right," said Knuckles.

"I am?" Rouge was surprised. Knuckles actually agreed with her.

"Yes. I shouldn't let that coward get to me. If I keep worrying about him, it'll just eat me alive inside."

"That's good to hear, Knuckles. I tell you what. Let's do something tonight that you've never done. Let's do something that you've always wanted to do but never got the chance to," said Rouge.

"Well... now that you mention it, there is something that I've never done before that I've always wanted to do but was unable to since I was always on Angel Island," said Knuckles.

"What's that?" asked Rouge.

Knuckles was blushing at this point. "Well, I've never been on a date before," said Knuckles.

Rouge looked over, speechless. There was a long silence filled with blushes as the two just looked at each other. "Why, Knuckles, are you actually asking ME out on a date? I think that I might need a drink for this." Rouge headed over to the minibar and took out a bottle of Nuevo.

"Well, technically, I just said that I wanted to go on a date. I never said that it had to be you," said Knuckles, smirking.

Rouge scoffed. Then, she started laughing when she realized what game Knuckles was trying to play. "Knuckie, think about it. Who else would look as good on your arm?" She pressed herself against him, trying to make him feel hot.

"Crystal would," said Knuckles with a laugh.

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. You got to admit that she's got it going on. Her body is perfect. I'd totally date her if she didn't want us dead," said Knuckles.

"Well, I hope you can keep a mental picture of how she looks now because the next time I see that bitch, I'm going to mess her life up real bad," said Rouge, sipping on her drink.

"Are you jealous?" asked Knuckles. He was just pushing her buttons at this point.

"Just shut up and go take a shower. I refuse to be seen with a man who smells like cow manure," said Rouge.

* * *

Back on the beach where Knuckles and Rouge had landed, Valon and Crystal were just arriving. They had followed the signal from the tracer up until the moment it shorted out. Valon reached down and pulled the tracer out of the sand.

"The radar will be useless now. We'll have to do things the old fashioned way," said Crystal.

"It makes no difference to me. That'll just make the hunt that much more rewarding when we take them down," said Valon. "Besides, I doubt if they've left this city. I sense that Knuckles is near."

Crystal used her might and snapped the radar into several pieces simply by squeezing. "Good. I grow weary of this hunt. It's time to finish them off for good."

"Whether it be a green jungle or an iron jungle, I'll find you, Knuckles!" Valon screamed aloud.

"Come, Valon. Let us take to the rooftops and find our prey before the trail gets cold," said Crystal. Valon pulled her close and planted a kiss on Crystal, which she returned gladly. "How about a little sex on the beach before we start the search?" Crystal placed his hands on her perfect ass, but he quickly pulled away from her.

"Maybe later. Like you just said, we need to get this over with before we lose track of them again. Sex would only take our strength away and waive our senses, and I'll need all my strength to find Knuckles and take him down,"

"Me and my big mouth," said Crystal. She looked down to only have her face lifted up by Valon. She looked into his eyes.

"Don't be discontent, my love. Once we claim the lives of those we seek, passion shall be our reward. Your every wish will be my command," said Valon. He caressed her cheek.

"How'd I get so lucky to have a guy like you? Whenever you look at me with those beautiful eyes, I melt every time," said Crystal.

They kissed again and took to the city. They split up to cover more ground. Valon took to the sky and headed east while Crystal stayed in the west and took to the rooftops. Her acrobatics were on display. The final hunt had officially begun.

* * *

_The final hunt has begun. Valon and Crystal are now in pursuit of an unaware Knuckles and Rouge. Once they find Knuckles and Rouge, what'll be their fate? You don't want to miss my next updates. This is what most of the fans of this story has been waiting on. Stay close to a computer and be sure to check it frequently because there's no telling when I'm going to update again. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one._

_A/N: That last bit was to just show that Valon and Crystal are 'human' too. They aren't machines. They do have emotions as well. Their lives don't revolve entirely around their jobs._

_Please review. All forms of criticism are acceptable whether it be positive or negative._

_ICY KNUCKLES_


	8. Second Thoughts

_I would like to thank my readers who stuck with me this far. I know it's been taking me so long to do these updates and I apologize for that. I get to it when I have time. With that being said, I guess that I'll continue where I left off. This is the Knuckles and Rouge date chapter. The action is just getting started. Trust me when I say that I'm going to end this story right._

* * *

Knuckles stepped out of the shower feeling renewed. A good shower really was all that he needed to just be fully relaxed and restored. Steam trailed from the bathroom as Knuckles walked out. He came out with a towel wrapped around his abdomen. He still had some water on his back, however, and when he walked past Rouge; his ripped torso was glistening in the room light. She caught a glimpse of his manly backside and staring hard. To Rouge, he never looked better. Water was still in his dreads as well; so when looked back at her, she really began to ogle him. He had that beach stud look on him.

"Rouge!" Knuckles yelled.

"What?" She finally responded. Rouge was staring at Knuckles so hard that she was not aware that Knuckles had been talking to her.

"What the heck are you looking at? Did I miss a spot?" he asked with a bit of cockiness to his voice.

"Not at all. In fact, I was just admiring you, uh, your bathing skills. You really know to clean up," said Rouge.

"Heh. Thanks, I guess," he replied with a smile.

He went over to the mirror and started checking himself out; making sure that he was in order. For a person who lives outdoors, Knuckles was acting a lot like a pretty boy. He actually was trying to look good instead of accepting his natural appearance. He used some hotel complimentary cocoa butter on his face so that it would smell nice and shine. Rouge had just gone inside to take her shower. He waited patiently until she was finished. When she came out of the shower, she had a white towel wrapped around her torso and abdomen. Her hair was dripping wet. It was surprisingly longer than you first realized.

She looked at her torn clothes in her hand, which consisted of her tights and her heart top. Her heart top was still in good conditioning but her tights were another story. There were severely battered and torn. It was most definitely not something that you wear for a date. She dropped them in the middle of the floor and went over to Knuckles and sat down on his lap, which made Knuckles blush.

"Rouge… uhhh…." He started.

"Knuckles, you have to take me shopping first. I have nothing to wear," said Rouge as she ran her finger up and down his chest.

"No way! That's where I draw the line. There's absolutely no way that I'm going to sit up in a store and watch you try on clothes," said Knuckles.

"Is that so?" she asked with a smirk. She got off his lap and sat right back down on his lap so that she was face to face with him.

* * *

_About fifteen minutes later…._

"I can't believe that I'm sitting up in this store and I'm watching her try on clothes," said Knuckles in such a depressed tone that it would've made even made Shadow feel sorry for him. After Rouge had a 'talk' with Knuckles, she somehow convinced him to go clothes shopping with him. They searched around until Rouge finally spotted a Lacy's department store. To Knuckles' dismay, he was dragged into the women's department. Rouge took off in search of a suitable wardrobe, leaving Knuckles standing in the middle of the store. He then walked over and found a seat, where he recited the first sentence of this paragraph.

Another gentleman was sitting across from him reading a magazine. He was a blue hedgehog with well groomed spikes and he wore glasses. His attire consisted of a burgundy sweater vest and a nice pair of black slacks. This gentleman lowered his magazine and looked over to where Knuckles was sitting.

"This must be your first time shopping with your woman?" asked the hedgehog.

"Huh?" asked a puzzled Knuckles.

"You're showing all the signs. You're mumbling angrily to yourself, you looked bored out of your mind, and your body language is just screaming 'shoot me now'," said the hedgehog with a chuckle. "How long have the two of you been married?"

"What? No, you have the wrong impression here, pal. I'm here with my….. friend," said Knuckles

"She must mean something to you if she's got you sitting up here in a woman's clothing store," said the hedgehog. "The only guys I know that insist on going to these stores are those weird, pushover types who can't score dates."

Knuckles laughed out loud. "Is that so? Well, I assure you that I do not fall into that category."

"Well, good. You didn't look like it anyway," said the hedgehog. "My name's Sean."

"I'm Knuckles the Echidna," Knuckles replied.

They shook hands.

"So, is your lady as nerve wrecking as mine?" asked Sean.

"Probably more nerve wrecking. I just don't understand her sometimes," said Knuckles.

"Does she get under your skin?" asked Sean.

"All the way down to the cells," said Knuckles.

"Well, there's no doubting it now, Knuckles. You've just told on yourself," said Sean.

"What do you mean?"

"This lady obviously means a lot to you. She's the type that you can fight and argue with all day but at the end of each day, you realize why you love her and you know that you'd do anything to please her. That's why you're here," said Sean.

"I doubt that's the reason," Knuckles replied.

"You might not think it to be true now but give it time. I know it's fate because it happened to me. I'm sitting here for the same reason that you are. I was talked into this by the woman that I love. Angela has to be the loudest, craziest woman that I've ever met. She gets under my skin all the time but at the end of the day, I know that she's my soul mate. That's why I don't mind doing this from time to time. It pleases her," said Sean.

"It sounds like this Angela is quite a woman," said Knuckles.

"She is, and I believe you'd feel the same way about your lady if you were willing to just lower your guard and give her a chance," said Sean.

Knuckles pondered for a moment. Sean really seemed like he knew what he was talking about. Maybe he was right. If he gave Rouge a chance, maybe she would turn out to be the one. Maybe it is possible for a treasure guardian and a treasure thief to find love within each other. Knuckles had to admit, Rouge really had been laying off of him about taking the Master Emerald. So why has she been coming to Angel Island for if she doesn't want the emerald anymore? Knuckles was snapped out of his train of thought when a hedgehog wearing a sundress and white sunglasses walked over to where Sean was sitting. She was very attractive, too. Nice curves, nice bust, and her cyan fur glossed in the light. She was one of a kind.

"I have my dress for the party, dear. Looks like I didn't need your help finding a dress after all," said Angela.

"You never do, babe. If you're going to drag me down to one of these stores and force me to sit here, the least you could do is give me something to do while I sit here," said Sean.

"Ok, sweetie. I'll try not to leave you alone anymore," said Angela.

"Thanks, babe," said Sean.

Knuckles looked and couldn't help smiling at what he saw. He couldn't see a thing wrong with her.

"I don't see what's so bad about her, Sean. She seems real nice to me," said Knuckles.

Angela looked at Sean furiously.

"So, you've been talking about me to strangers, Sean. Are you out of your mind?" she asked in spite. You could hear it on her tongue.

"Babe, Knuckles isn't a stranger. I've known him for a while now," Sean lied.

"I don't care!" she yelled. "My husband is talking about me behind my back like I'm some cheap floozy. A few heads turned and looked at the trio.

"Babe, what have I told you about causing a scene when we go out," said Sean calmly.

Angela looked back and saw people looking at her. She lowered her eyebrows and mean mugged the crowd. "What the hell are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a couple have an argument before? Turn back around before I come and slap the tracks out of your head. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Weavie Wonder. Don't play dumb with me. I am not the one."

"See what I mean," said Sean, turning to Knuckles. "She doesn't talk to you. She talks over you."

Knuckles chuckled. Angela was quite the character.

"I heard you, Sean. It's not too late to get slapped in here. I'll slap your mouth shut for you," said Angela.

Sean turned to Knuckles, sighing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to Knuckles. It contained his contact information. "It was nice meeting you, Knuckles. We should hang out sometimes and get away from these crazy women."

Knuckles laughed once again as Sean practically had to drag Angela out of the store. Knuckles could hear them arguing with each other in the distance as they left.

"I can't take you anywhere," said Sean.

"Take me home before I hurt somebody. If you don't shut up, it might be you that I hurt," said Angela.

"I love you," said Sean.

"Shut up!"

Knuckles couldn't get over how they acted. Despite the arguing, Knuckles could tell that their love was still as strong as ever. It wasn't exactly the most conditional love but it worked for them. If they could love so hard despite their bickering, then perhaps he and Rouge were compatible after all. After listening to what Sean had to say, he seemed more confused now than ever about his feelings for the bat. Rouge affects him unlike anyone else ever has. Although, they fight all the time and his life would be easier if she weren't in it, he'd rather not have that fate. Seeing Sean and Angela opened Knuckles' eyes to the possibility that he might harbor feelings for Rouge.

"What was that all about?" Knuckles was brought from his train of thought by the voice of Rouge, who had snuck up behind him.

"Trust me, you don't even wanna know," said Knuckles. He turned around. Rouge was astonishing. She wore a tight, pink strapless top with an adequate amount of cleavage exposed along with her midriff. Her pants were an even tighter pair of her old tights that really exposed her ASSets and hugged her curves. She still wore her iron boots with the pick nails attached and her gloves. For a moment, Knuckles was at a loss for words.

"Do I look okay, Knuckles?" asked Rouge.

"Huh?"

She giggled at his lack of focus at the moment. Of course, she dressed like this on purpose but it seems like she overdid it just a bit. Knuckles was mush. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready. Let's go," he finally replied.

As they approached the door, Knuckles noticed that a price tag was still on the back of Rouge's top.

"Did you pay for these?" asked Knuckles.

"Uh, no. Be quiet about it, though," said Rouge.

"Come back, thief!"

Knuckles and Rouge turned around to see that a female clerk and two security robots were in pursuit of them. Knuckles and Rouge took off running out of the store before the guards could catch up to them. Before leaving, Knuckles picked up a clothing rack and tossed it like a javelin directly into the chest of one of the robots, which made it short circuit and spin out of control. The remaining robot shot a taser wire from his cuff. It just barely missed Knuckles, who dashed out of the way before he could be tazed. Once they were outside, Rouge took to the air with Knuckles holding her by the hand. The remaining robot jumped up surprisingly high. It grabbed Knuckles by the foot. The extra weight made Rouge start falling fast.

"Knuckles, I can't hold you both," said Rouge through gritted teeth.

"Well, drop me then," said Knuckles.

Rouge did as she was told. She let him go. As Knuckles and the robot fell from the sky, the robot loosened his grip on Knuckles. As he did, Knuckles reached down and pounded hard and rapidly into the chest palate of the robot. He beat the metal away to reveal its power core. One more punch to its chest and the robot exploded. The result of the explosion sent Knuckles flying back into the air. Rouge grabbed Knuckles around the waist as he shot back up towards her.

"I can't believe you!" said Knuckles. He was panting hard after beating on the robot. "I thought we were keeping a low profile!"

"Come on, Knuckie. Buying the dress wouldn't have been any fun at all," said Rouge. "Anyone can buy an outfit, but it takes real skill and prowess to steal one."

"I can't take you anywhere," said Knuckles with a slight chuckle, shaking his head.

"Shut up or I'll drop you," said Rouge.

* * *

_I originally had not planned to end this chapter right here, but I felt that my readers were entitled to something. I hope this is enough to hold you over until my next update. Sorry for the long wait. I write when I have the feeling and time. It's hard matching the two, but it's coming back to me slowly. With any luck, I'll be able to update at the most earliest convenience. Thanks to all the readers who stuck with me this long. You guys rock! _

_ICY KNUCKLES_


	9. Sins of the Father

_I've kept my fans waiting long enough. I'm about to work diligently until this story is done because I see my fans have stopped believing in me, and I really can't blame them. I have been gone a long time. The truth is, I kinda gave up writing. I just couldn't feel the juice anymore. I thought it was my time to hang it up, but it's not over yet. I can't leave this story on a cliffhanger. You deserve to know what happens at the end; so without further ado, here's the next chapter._

* * *

The night air was brisk. It tore through the sky like teeth through flesh. There was just enough of an air current to cause tumbleweeds to roll. With the upcoming showdown, that would make this an appropriate setting. At the end of a rooftop standing and looking diligently over the city was the bat known as Valon. He was deep in thought as he looked down onto the city below. You could see it on his face. A thirst for blood was in his fangs. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a chakra amethyst on a pendant.

"The Stone of Khalil!" Valon exclaimed. "Legend has it that the wearer of this ancient charm becomes the ultimate hunter. Tonight, on Hunter's Moon, that shall be my honor."

He put it back into the satchel and put the satchel back around his waist. Then, he stared out into the horizon. He had never felt more confident or determined in his life. He knew that he was going to kill Knuckles the Echidna, whatever it took. It was fate.

"Soon, vengeance shall be mine," said Valon.

_Flashback…_

Two bats were standing in the middle of a clearing. One was a large, muscular adult bat. The other bat was only about five years old. The older bat was loading arrows onto an automatic bow.

"See, son that's the next rule of hunting: Always make sure your weapons are flawless before the hunt. It's quite important that you don't go into battle with unpolished melee weapons or low ammunition in your projectile weapons. Being poorly prepared for a situation could cost you your life on a hunt," said the adult bat.

"Yes, papa. I understand," said the young bat.

"Atta boy, Valon. You're going to make a fine hunter one day, son," said the adult bat.

"You really think so, Papa," said the young bat. His eyes were big with interest and just as innocent.

"Hey, you're the son of Amar'e the Bat. Greatness is in your blood. Don't you ever let anyone tell you any different," said the adult bat. He patted his son on the head.

Amar'e put the finishing touches on his crossbow, polishing it and then making sure that each arrow was as sharp as possible. He also sharpened his hunting knife and firmly placed it in his holster. Then, he put the holster on his hip. The holster was made from pure crocodile skin. It was his prize when he fought with Cyrax the Killer Croc.

Amar'e looked into the air. The moon was freshly placed into the sky. Night was upon them. Amare's eyes glistened as the moon reflected off them. He reached inside his leather vest and pulled out the Stone of Khalil. It also glistened in the moonlight with the same coloring as Amare's eyes.

"Tonight is Hunter's Moon, Valon. Tonight is the greatest night to be a hunter," said Amar'e.

"What's so great about it?" asked Valon.

"You can't feel it in your veins? Probably not. You're still so young," said Amar'e. "Hunter's Moon happens once every ten years. It commemorates the night that our ancestor, Khalil the Great, defeated Cassius the Echidna in battle and claimed his empire. Since then, every male descendant has celebrated his conquest by defeating a great warrior in a battle to the death. So far, we have won every battle." Amar'e smirked. "Tonight, you get to see your old man in action."

Amar'e motioned for his son to follow him. He started flapping his wings, and before long, he had taken to the air. Valon followed close behind, however, with his small wings, he was flapping more rapidly than Amar'e just to keep up. Amar'e saw that and slowed his pace.

"Father, I don't understand, though. Why must we hunt? Are we not hurting innocent warriors and those around them?" asked Valon when he finally caught up.

"Every warrior must have his test, his day in court," said Amar'e. "There's an unwritten rule in this world which we must all live by: Only the strong survive."

"I'll try to understand, Father" said Valon.

Amar'e and Valon flew through the night. The moon reflected off their bodies and caused a radiance to be reflected from their wings. It was almost godly. The two bats flew through the air, owning the skies. It was like the clouds in the night sky were moving out of their way as they flew. After about twenty minutes of flying, they finally landed in a clearing on a floating island above the ocean. A green light could be seen in the distance away from where they had landed.

"I sense the spirit of a might warrior nearby," said Amar'e. "Come, son."

They trekked on foot through the forest that inhabited the island. Various tropical wildlife animals could be heard in the distance. It was very fortunate that bats could see in the dark using their ears to navigate. They cleared the forest with ease and came upon a shrine where the green light was found.

"Father, where are we?" asked Valon. He was feeling a bit uneasy about the whole ordeal.

"We're on Angel Island. The last few descendants of an ancient echidna warrior tribe live here. They've managed to endure great hardships over the course of their existence and dedicate their lives to protecting the green gem known as the Master Emerald from anyone who might use it to bring harm to the world," said Amar'e.

Valon's eyes were filled with wonder. The way his father described the race made them seem almost legendary. It sounded like something that you would read in a storybook.

"My battle is with that echidna over there," said Amar'e. He pointed over and saw a lone maroon echidna standing in the distance atop the shrine. He bore a striking resemblance to Knuckles except his coloring was different and he had white facial hair and tribal markings on his dreads. He was staring up at the moon as if he was trying to communicate with it. The slight breeze made his dreads sway. Suddenly his eyes opened and a serene look covered his face.

"I got a bad feeling about tonight. The wind is a little hostile. Something's not right. I can feel it," said the lone echidna. He walked over to where a baby echidna was nestled tightly with a blanket in a wooden manger filled with hay. He was sleeping so soundly that it would have been a crime to disturb him. The echidna ran his hand across the baby's forehead. "I must keep my son safe at all costs. He's the future of our tribe."

"Your son isn't the one who's in danger," said Amar'e from behind. The echidna turned around and saw Amar'e standing at the bottom steps of the shrine. Valon stayed behind in the bushes to spectate. He was a little excited seeing as how this was his father's first battle witnessing with his own two eyes. Also, Amar'e did not want to risk the chance of his opponent attacking his son or use him to tip the odds in battle.

The echidna scurried down the steps of the shrine so that he was just standing a few feet away from the intruder. He got into his fighting stance. "And just who are you, stranger?" the echidna asked.

"My name is Amar'e the Bat, descendant of Khalil the Great, and I have come to do battle with you, great warrior," said Amar'e.

"What for? Did I win a contest or something?" asked the echidna.

"Your people live the life of the warrior, and you're no different. You endure all challenges that nature set before you and overcome them with great stride. Tonight, you have yet another challenge: Survival" said Amar'e. "One of us will not see the morning sun."

The echidna scoffed. "Is that so?"

Amar'e nodded and grunted. "It is fate."

"I decide my own fate," said the echidna. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested."

The echidna turned to walk back up the shrine. Amar'e flew quickly into the air and over to land between three steps in front of the echidna. The echidna stopped in his tracks and looked up at the bat above.

"You don't have a choice, warrior," said Amar'e.

"There's always a choice for me. Now, step aside," said the echidna.

The echidna kept going up the steps, eager to get back to his son. He was going to walk right through Amar'e if needed but Amar'e stepped out the way.

"Back in the old days, we had ways to make warriors who refused to fight change their minds. Anyone can be persuaded to defend their honor," said Amar'e.

Amar'e quickly flew up past the echidna who hadn't bothered to turn around to face Amar'e. Amar'e beat the echidna to the top of the shrine and noticed the Master Emerald as well as the baby echidna.

"No!" The echidna rushed up the steps as fast as his legs could take him. He was up the steps before he could blink his eye. What he saw when he reached the top tore him up inside. Amar'e had lifted the entire manger and had taken flight.

"Put him down, you coward!" the echidna demanded. He had officially lost his cool.

"I take it this is your son. Impressive. I can sense the blood of a warrior flowing through his veins. Although young, he indeed has a warrior pedigree," said Amar'e. "The ritual of Hunter's Moon demand that the blood of a warrior be shed. If you will not fight me, maybe your protégé will be more cooperative."

The echidna gritted his teeth. He was filled with anger, but he dare not risk his young son's life. "Very well," he said.

A smirk came across Amare's face as he lowered the echidna baby back atop the shrine. He gently placed the baby back down next to the Master Emerald. Then he turned around. "Now abo-"

Before Amar'e could finish his sentence, he was caught with a right hook that sent him flying off the shrine and onto the island floor. In the distance, Valon's eyes grew large with worry. Amar'e quickly rose to his feet and brushed himself off. He chuckled to himself.

"What a dramatic change in temperament," said Amar'e.

The echidna hopped down so that he was a few meters away from Amar'e. "How would you feel if I threatened your son?" asked the echidna.

"I'd want to kill you instantly," said Amar'e. He lunged at the echidna, grabbing him around the waist and lifting him high into the air. He did a somersault and plunged toward the ground. Before he hit the ground, he slung the echidna as hard as he could into the ground. Amar'e hovered over the dirt cloud caused by the impact. He was sure that he'd won. Once the cloud settled, there was a dent in the ground from the impact but the echidna was not there.

"Where'd he go?" Amar'e asked himself.

Before Amar'e could anticipate, the echidna came out of the ground right below Amar'e and grabbed him by the leg. He spun Amar'e in circles by his leg. Once he had enough momentum, he let Amar'e go and threw him into the trunk of a nearby tree. The echidna quickly charged Amar'e and threw a punch. Amar'e ducked just before the echidna could strike. Instead, the echidna punched clean through the tree and caused it to fall. Amar'e connected on a triple punch combo to the echidna's torso. The echidna ate the punches, however, and delivered a two hand chop to Amare's back that caused him to hit the dirt face first. The echidna put his boot to the back of Amare's head and literally made him eat dirt.

"You fight like a rookie," said the echidna.

Amar'e wasn't done yet. He reached into his holster and took out his knife. He quickly sliced it across the echidna's leg. The echidna pulled back as his leg began to bleed from the cut. He held his leg as he winced in pain. Amar'e quickly rose to his feet. His lip was busted, and his mouth was covered in dirt.

"Don't talk so soon," said Amar'e.

"I should've known a creep like you would have to cheat to stay ahead," said the echidna.

"Cheat? How does one cheat in a battle to the death? There is only one rule here: Survive by any means. I could've killed you before you even knew that I was here but I wanted to give you a fighting chance, not because I had to but because I just thought it would be more interesting this way."

Amar'e pulled out his crossbow. He took aim at the echidna's head. The echidna easily dodged the first two arrows but the gash in his leg was causing him to move slower than usual. The third arrow nicked the echidna in the shoulder and it started to bleed as well. The echidna started to run back towards the shrine. Amar'e took to the air for a better shot. He lined up his next arrow and fired. It landed about a foot away from the echidna.

"Your aim is unimpressive," said the echidna.

"Is it?" said Amar'e.

The arrow was unlike the others he had fired. It was red and slightly bigger. The end was not sharp either. It was plastic. Before the echidna could blink, the arrow exploded and caused a small explosion that sent the echidna flying. The echidna hit his head on the base of the shrine. The bump to the head caused him to be dazed for a second. Suddenly, he heard the worst sound he could've heard that night. The scream of his son could be heard all over Angel Island.

"KNUCKLES!" the echidna exclaimed.

The echidna quickly snapped out of his confusion and rushed up the shrine. Before he could get far, he was surprised from behind by Amar'e with a garrote wire. He began suffocating the echidna.

"Not so fast!" said Amar'e.

The echidna gasped for air as the garrote wire choked the life out of him. The barbs in the wire planted themselves into his neck, preventing escape. The echidna was brought to his knees. The night was getting darker, darker… Before totally blacking out, the echidna make one last move. He threw his body recklessly. The back of the echidna's head struck Amar'e dead in his nose, busting it wide open. Amar'e was forced to let the wire go. The echidna gasped for air as he pulled the garrote wire out his neck.

"That was too close for comfort," said the echidna. "_I've got to lead him away from my son. I can't fight at full strength while worrying about him. I hate to leave him like this but it's the only way I can guarantee his safety as well as my own," _He thought. "Emerald, watch over my son in my absence." The emerald started to glow bright as if giving its seal of approval.

The echidna ran to the edge of Angel Island. He looked up to see that Amar'e had gotten up and was looking in his direction. "Catch me if you can, Hunter," said the echidna.

Amar'e smirked. "Let the hunt continue. The lion chases the gazelle."

Amar'e loaded his crossbow and took to the skies. He fired three normal arrows at the echidna. All of them missed as the echidna jumped over the edge. He began to glide down to the landscape below. Amar'e was hot on his tail, though. He fired a purple arrow. The echidna changed its course but the arrow seemed to change its course as well.

"A homing arrow!" the echidna said in astonishment.

The arrow was closing in on the echidna. With nothing but air between the arrow and the echidna, there was nothing he could hide behind to block the arrow.

"I only have one chance. I've got to time it right," said the echidna.

The arrow neared the back of his head. Before it could hit home, he did a 360 spin in the air, turning around and grabbing the arrow out the air. Then, he reverted back to his original gliding stance.

"Impressive," said Amar'e. "But not good enough."

Amar'e pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin. He threw it but it exploded before it could get to the echidna. The force of the explosion still knocked the echidna out of the air. He fell about twenty feet into a tree below and hit 4 limbs and six branches on the way down. He landed on the ground real hard. He growled as pain surged through his body at an alarming rate. He was aching all over. When he tried to get up, a sharp pain veered through his left arm. He let out a loud groan.

"It might be broken," said the echidna. "I can't stay here, though."

He got on his feet and started limping. He was battered and bruised but he was not ready to quit yet. Strangely, all had gone quiet. There was no sign of Amar'e anywhere. The only thing he could hear was the pitter patter of the wildlife in the area off in the distance. He could not see nor hear anything that sounded remotely similar to a bat.

"He saw where I fell. I'm pretty sure he's near," said the echidna. "All the same, I better use my cover until I figure out where he is."

"I'll save you the trouble," said Amar'e.

The echidna looked all around but Amare's voice seemed to be coming from all around. The echidna spun in circles trying to pinpoint the origin of the sound. Amar'e started cackling evilly. The echidna backed up against a tree for protection. It didn't do him any good though. Amar'e launched himself clean through the tree like a bat out of hell. He picked up the echidna and slammed him down hard on the ground near the edge of a cliff. Then, he landed a few feet away from the echidna. The echidna rose to his feet, holding his arm.

"Is it broken? What a tragic turn of events for you," said Amar'e. "Your luck has just ran out. This is the finish line. Nowhere left to run. I doubt you can glide with your arm broken, and it's a long way down. The only way back to your island is through me."

"Then, that's precisely where I'm going," said the echidna.

"What is your name?" asked Amar'e. "I want to remember you when you're dead. When I tell your tale, I want everyone to know who it was. This was indeed one of my best hunts. It's a shame that it has to end."

"My name is Locke the Echidna, son of Sabre the Echidna. The only person you're going to be able to tell my story to is to the devil himself," said the echidna.

Locke charged at Amar'e with all his might. He threw a quick punch with his healthy arm. Amar'e seen it coming from a mile away. He easily dodged and delivered a two piece combination to Locke's face and gave him a hook with the third punch right in the jaw. Locke fell back and was down for the count. His left eye had been closed by the two punches to the face.

Amar'e pulled out his hunting knife and walked over to Locke to deliver the final blow. "Locke, you fought well. I'll be sure your son is taken care of."

Amar'e raised the knife above his head. Then, he came down with all his strength. With the last of his strength, Locke used his injured hand to catch Amare's knife. Blood gushed from his arm at an alarming rate. Amar'e was so shocked by the turn of events that he didn't notice that Locke had the purple arrow in his other hand. With the last of his might, Locke jammed the arrow into Amare's chest. The arrow went all the way through and came out his back. The tip was dripping with blood from the impaling and covered with chunks of Amare's heart. Amare's eyes grew so large they almost popped out of his head. He was coughing up so much blood that he was choking on it. He started backing away from Locke, who had just pulled the knife out of his arm. He walked over to where Amar'e stood struggling to stay alive.

"Tell the devil I said hello," said Locke. "Now dieeee!"

Locke pushed Amar'e back and he fell, dead. Locke was breathing hard from the fight. Honestly, he was barely in better shape than Amar'e was. He had lost so much blood that his vision was blurred. He decided to take a break before getting back to his island and his son. The night was his. Locke had decided to close his eyes for a few moments and enjoyed the tranquility of the night. He was exhausted beyond normal limits. There was no way he could make it back to a floating island anyway in his condition. His tranquility was interrupted by a screech in the distance. Locke opened his eyes to find a young bat by the dead Amar'e. While Locke rested his eyes, Valon had arrived on the scene and found his slain father.

"Daaad!" the young bat was in tears. "NOOOOO!" He dropped to his knees in sorrow. The wailing was more than Locke's ears could take. When bats wail, it comes out like a deafening supersonic screech. Valon had pulled the Stone of Khalil from around his father's neck and held it in his palms.

Locke quickly walked up to the young bat and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, son," he said.

"YOU did this! I'll kill you!" said Valon.

Valon noticed the knife that Locke had on his hip and instantly recognized that it belonged to his father. It was the same one he had shown him earlier that night. He snatched it from Locke's hip and swung it at Locke. Locke easily grabbed the young bat's hand and wrestled the knife out his hand. Then, he slung the little bat into a boulder. It put a bump on the back of his head. To top it off, his right wing was broken as well. The little bat was in pain.

"I have no quarrel with you, young bat. I'll leave you to grieve," said Locke.

Locke stood up and started to walk away. The young bat was not done, though. He picked himself up and ran back at Locke again. This time, he bit Locke in the leg.

"Ouch!" Locke yelped. He shook the little bat loose and shoved him real hard. Perhaps a little too hard. The bat stumbled back to the edge of the cliff. Locke seen this and ran to his aide. The little bat tried to gain his balance but he could not. Locke dove towards the edge and extended out his hand to try to grab the bat but he was too late. Valon went over the edge. With his wing damaged, he could not fly back up. He could hear the scream of the little bat get lower and lower until it could no longer be heard. Locke looked over the edge of the cliff and could see nothing but jagged rocks and the roaring ocean below. Locke closed his eyes and sighed.

"Damn!"

* * *

About an hour later on a shoreline miles away from Angel Island, the beach was quiet. It was a normal night until a tiny body washed ashore. It was Valon. Both of his wings were broken and full of holes. His face was leaking blood. It was a scene that deserved tears. The little bat was struggling to stay alive.

He pulled himself out of the water and just laid facedown in the sand. In his right hand clenched as tight as he could hold it was his dad's necklace. It was all he had left.

"I can't die. Not yet. I have to kill him. I have to kill him for what he did," said the young bat. "On my father's grave, I'll get even with him if it's the last thing I do."

_End Flashback…_

A tear strolled down Valon's face as he recalled the events of the past. It further motivated him to accomplish his goal.

"Soon, Father, you will be avenged," he said.

He put the stone back in the satchel.

"_VALON COME IN_!"

Valon reached down and pulled his communicator out of his pocket. "Valon here. What's the situation, my love?"

"_I'VE FOUND OUR PREY. THEY'VE BEEN SPOTTED DOWNTOWN NEAR THE BUSINESS DISTRICT_," said Crystal. "_IF YOU DON'T HURRY, YOU MIGHT MISS ALL THE FUN!"_

"Roger that. I'm in pursuit," said Valon.

Valon flew off the perch and jetted away at maximum speed towards his destiny.

* * *

_Thank you to all my faithful readers who have stuck with me and this story. I'm really glad I have your continued support as this story progresses. I know it's long overdue. I'm working on it. Your continued support inspires me to keep going even when I want to pack it all in. Until my next update, take care and be blessed._

_ICY KNUCKLES_

_P.S. The title of this chapter was meant to pay homage to my first oneshot called Sins of the Father. Check it out if you get the chance._


	10. Bliss

_Alright. Let's get down to the good stuff. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review._

* * *

Knuckles and Rouge gathered themselves on a rooftop miles away from the mall. Knuckles looked down onto the city below with a keen look on his face. He had a lot on his mind. This hunter situation was not one that he liked especially when he was the prey. He wasn't sure of the reason Valon had chosen him to hunt but he knew that Valon would not stop until the hunt was complete. Rouge came over and stood next to him.

"Whatcha thinkin bout, handsome?" she asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just really hungry. I can't make up my mind about what I want to eat," he said. That was a half truth because he really didn't know what he wanted but that wasn't what was on his mind at the moment.

"Luckily, you don't have to. The lady always gets to pick the restaurant," said Rouge.

Knuckles scoffed. "And why is that?"

"It's just how things are done. The lady picks the restaurant and her date picks up the check," said Rouge.

Knuckles reached into his pocket. There were only five rings in there. He never really went anywhere so he had no need for cash. He mostly lived off the land. He only kept money for purchasing herbs and medicines he use for staying healthy and strong. "Well, we might have a problem, then. Unless you want a cheeseburger I suggest we go Dutch."

"Now just how do you expect to keep a spontaneous woman like me interested if you can't even afford to pay for dinner?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess my charm and wit will just have to put in some overtime or something," said Knuckles.

Rouge laughed. "Good answer. I see you have a sense of humor when you want to." She nudged him in the side. "I'm getting hungry though. Let's go. I think I know just the place."

"Where?"

"You'll see when we get there. I want it to be a surprise. C'mon." Rouge grabbed Knuckles by the arm and jumped off the building. They flew through the city at an express rate. As they toured the city, Knuckles was making a mental note of the streets and buildings they passed just in case. They strolled through beautiful downtown Metal City. The neons lights were aglow as the sun finished its journey to the horizon. Knuckles and Rouge were amazed by all the sights. There were clubs, casinos, bars, and many restaurants that were alive with activity. The night life in Metal City was nothing less than magnificent. Before long, Knuckles could feel Rouge begin to lose altitude.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Yes. You're getting a bit too heavy to carry. You need to lose some weight, and that's a fact," said Rouge. She landed on a nearby rooftop. "We're almost there, too."

"How much farther?" he asked.

"Probably about another block or two," she replied.

She was caught off guard by what happened next. Knuckles approached her from behind and scooped her up bridal style. She gasped at first but when he picked her but she quickly saw what was going on.

"Which way?" he asked.

"My, my, Knuckie. You never cease to amaze me," she said.

"I'm very hungry," he replied.

She smiled and pointed to their north. He began to run. When he reached the end of the rooftop, he jumped over to the next rooftop with room to spare. Because they were in a city, the roofs were all very close together. He made the jumps with little effort. As they were running for one of the buildings, a crazy idea popped into Knuckles' head. At the end of the next building, Knuckles raised Rouge above his head and gave her a mighty toss. She flew at a high speed directly down towards the floor of the rooftop below. It was a big drop. Rouge let out a loud scream once she became aware of what was happening.

"Knuckles, you asshole!" she yelled as she fell.

With an impressive display of athleticism, Knuckles dove down and caught Rouge before she could splatter onto the roof below and did a somersault to land on his own two feet and keep running. Rouge opened her eyes to see that she was safely back in Knuckles' arms. Knuckles was looking down at her with a big smirk on his face. He winked as he caught her looking at him.

"Whatever, you jerk. I didn't need you to catch me anyway," said Rouge with a pout. She looked away.

After another two minutes of rooftop running, Knuckles came to a halt on top of a really tall building by Rouge's instruction. He put her down and they walked over to the edge of the building.

"That's the place," said Rouge. She pointed to a pretty bistro below. The restaurant was all outside. There was a beautiful fountain right in the middle of the tables to separate the seating into four different sections. The fountain changed colors thanks to an unseen lighting source that bounced off the water, giving it the look of a spectrum. The décor was definitely futuristic in keeping with the Metal City theme. The place was lit, however, by gas candles that were burning high on every pillar in the place. The place looked like a piazza, and classical music filled the air with an overbearing feeling of bourgeoisie.

"It looks nice," said Knuckles. "I hope they have grapes."

Rouge looked over at Knuckles looking down and thought to herself. Then, she began to smirk. "Oh Knuckles. How would you like to make an entrance?"

"What kind of entrance?" he asked.

"This kind. Think fast!"

Without much hesitation, Rouge shoves Knuckles over the rooftop. Knuckles reacts by screaming loud enough so that everyone in the bistro could hear him. They looked up and saw him coming down. The crowd started oohing and awing at the sight. Knuckles caught himself by gliding. He glided over to a huge pole and started sliding down it with one hand. He stopped when he was about halfway to the ground. There were some decorations hanging on what seemed to be a fishing line. Knuckles shimmied down the line at an alarming rate. If he did not slow down, he was going to crash into the fountain. Before his feet could touch the ground, he let go. He landed on top of a clean table, jumped onto an occupied table without landing in any of their food, he did a somersault onto the floor, landing on his hands, alley-ooped over one of the waiters and landed in a chair that was conveniently located at a lovely table for two. Rouge came down and landed in the seat right across from him.

"Not bad, handsome," she said.

The restaurant patrons began applauding. Seems like they were really impressed with Knuckles' theatrics. Knuckles stood and took a bow. The cheering increased. The mixed crowd of anthromorphs and humans were going crazy. Knuckles sat back down and the applause finally died down.

"Looks like you have a fan club now," said Rouge.

"Well, you know. What can I say? When you got it, you got it," said Knuckles with a hearty laugh.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," she said.

Suddenly, a teenage girl with long red hair walked over to where they were. She had on an apron and a white dress shirt with black slacks. She placed two menus down in front of them.

"Hi there! Welcome to Chez Guererro. My name is Irene and I'll be your waitress this evening. First off, I'd like to say that was the greatest entrance anyone has ever made into this restaurant. Ever."

Knuckles looked over at Rouge with a smug look on his face. Rouge just shook her head and sighed.

"Thank you. Took me a whole minute to put that stunt together," said Knuckles boastfully.

"Uh yeah. Well, what will be drinking tonight?" Irene asked.

"I'll have a chardonnay," said Rouge.

"Water, please," said Knuckles.

"Alright. I'll be back in a second with your drinks to take your orders," said Irene. With that, she was gone.

Knuckles looked down at the menu. He searched through all the selectable entrees and saw that none of them were five rings. He reluctantly went to the appetizer section and discovered that they were also all more than 5 rings. He suddenly became red with embarrassment. He saw that he could get a couple of bread rolls for 5 rings. Knuckles' stomach began to cringe. He wanted more than bread. He only wanted a salad but that was 10 rings. This place was beyond expensive. That had better be the best salad in the world.

"What are you having?" asked Rouge.

Knuckles slowly looked up. "Are you talking to me?"

Rouge chuckled. "There ain't but two of us here." She looked over and saw Knuckles had turned redder than usual. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just looking at these outrageous prices," said Knuckles. "Six rings for a side of grapes?"

"Yeah. What's the problem? This is fine dining. You pay for the atmosphere," said Rouge.

"I….don't have…..enough money….to pay…for atmosphere," said Knuckles in an almost inaudible tone.

Rouge's giant ears perked up with intrigue. "Is that all? I thought it was something serious like they were out of pasta."

"But I can't afford anything on this menu," said Knuckles.

"So what are your options?" Rouge asked.

"What options? I go hungry unless you're going to buy my food," said Knuckles.

"Is that the way to ask?"

Knuckles looked up at her. "You would actually do that for me?"

"I might if you ask nicely," said Rouge with a smile.

Knuckles could see that she was enjoying this. Seeing him suffer must be one of her favorite hobbies. Still, he was super hungry and her offer was unrefusable. It was either his pride or his stomach.

"Rouge, could you pay for my dinner tonight?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Why yes, Knuckie. All you had to do was ask." She winked at him. What are friends for?"

Irene returned a few seconds later with their drinks in her hand. She set them down in front of them and pulled out a pad.

"Have you decided what you will be having this evening?"

"I'll have the pasta cannellini with a cucumber salad on the side," said Rouge.

"Ok and you, sir?"

"I'll have the swordfish with blue cheese dressing and a fruit salad," said Knuckles.

"If that's all, your food will be coming up shortly." Irene took their menus and was off once again. When she left, there was an awkward silence that fell between them. Knuckles looked over at her and she was looking down. She looked back over at him and he was looking down. They did that about three times until Knuckles finally broke the ice.

"Listen, Rouge, I just wanted to say-"

"Thanks for covering for me. That was very nice of you. Blah blah blah…." Rouge mocked.

Knuckles laughed. "Is everything a joke to you?"

"Not everything but life's too short to not enjoy every minute of it," said Rouge.

"You know, that's the first time I've ever heard that. It makes a lot of sense," said Knuckles.

"Of course it does because I said it. Everything I say makes sense," she said.

"I wouldn't go that far," said Knuckles.

They both laughed together. For a moment, they caught themselves looking into each other's eyes. Teal and mauve. It sent this tingling sensation down both of their spines.

"Sometimes, I just don't know about you," said Knuckles.

"Really? And just what is that suppose to mean?"

"It means exactly what I said. I think that chardonnay's going to your head," said Knuckles.

"Shut up." Rouge kicked him under the table playfully.

"Ouch! Those big iron boots hurt like hell," said Knuckles.

"You big baby!"

Irene came out a few seconds later with two plates, one in each hand. She placed each in front of the person who ordered it. Irene took Knuckles' glass and got him a fresh one. After that, she left them alone to enjoy their meal. As they ate, there were few words said between them. They hadn't eaten anything this good since this whole episode began. Their eyes did meet a couple of times but no words were spoken.

"That swordfish smells like sardines," Rouge said. "Bleh!"

"You just don't know good eating," said Knuckles, taking another bite of his fish. He was using his hands as utensils. He never once touched his fork or knife.

"You're such a barbarian. Why don't you use a fork for that?"

"Why?"

Rouge sighed and shook her head. "Never mind."

Rouge and Knuckles cleaned their plates in record time. They both were really hungry. Knuckles tossed the last piece of sliced fruit into the air and caught it with his tongue for the win. At this point, Rouge had finished three glasses of chardonnay, and she was feeling slightly tipsy.

"That really hit the spot," said Knuckles.

Irene brought their ticket and sat it on the table. Their total was 46 rings.

"Thanks again for covering for me on the meal," said Knuckles.

"Yeah, about that….. I don't have any money either. I've been broke since we were thrown into the ocean. All my rings and credit cards washed away," said Rouge. "Remind me to cancel them once all this is over."

"WHAT?!"

Rouge placed a hand over Knuckles' mouth. "Keep it down. Someone's gonna hear you."

"I can't believe you! You're like a magnet for trouble," said Knuckles.

"Who's in trouble? You have to be caught to get into trouble." Rouge smiled at him. She got up and walked over to the fountain and signaled for Knuckles to follow her. Once he joined her by the fountain, she pulled his arms down and wrapped them around her waist. This made Knuckles blush again but only for a second. It was finally becoming a feeling that he welcomed. "Hold tight."

"Hey!" They both turned around and saw Irene coming over to their location. She did not look very happy.

Before Knuckles could blink, Rouge spread her wings and darted up into the sky at an accelerated rate just as Irene had arrived at the fountain. The current from Rouge's takeoff caused water to splash from the fountain onto Irene, knocking her to the ground, and the customers who were sitting near the fountain ruining their clothes and their meals. Before long, they were high in the sky above the restaurant.

"SORRY ABOUT THAT!" Rouge yelled below.

"You're not sorry at all," said Knuckles.

"You're right. I'm not." Rouge soared through the air. She did a couple barrel rolls to try to scare the bajeezus out of Knuckles and secretly hoping it would cause him to hold her a little tighter, which it did.

"You're doing that on purpose aren't you?" he asked.

"Sorry. Can't hear you," said Rouge.

She came in for a tailspin dive. It looked like she was about to splatter them onto the pavement but she pulled up just before hitting the ground and landed lightly on the ground. Knuckles unwrapped his arms from around Rouge's waist and disconnected himself from her. She had landed on a random street corner about two blocks from the restaurant. It was right across the street from the city park.

"Thank you for flying Air Rouge. We hope to see you again!"

"I can't take you anywhere," said Knuckles with a smile.

"I thought that was already established," said Rouge, smiling back.

Knuckles laughed. "I must admit. It was fun though."

"Does this mean the date is over?" asked Rouge.

"It doesn't have to be," said Knuckles.

"Well, what do you have in mind, you big Romeo," said Rouge.

"I don't know. How about a walk through the park?"

Rouge pretended to think about it for a second. "Sounds cliché but I guess it's okay," she replied.

The wind was breezing lightly through the city. It felt good. Knuckles' dreads were blowing like leaves through the autumn. The streets were filled with people all engaging in something different whether it be for merriment or business. The tall skyscrapers provided excellent coverage from eyes that might be prowling above. Hover cars zoomed through the streets at a swift pace. There was a street performer on the corner with her guitar. She was a strawberry colored rabbit with her ears in two big long twists. She was wearing a nice sun dress as well with a crown of hemp around her head. She sang:

_You're here, I'm pleased  
I really dig your company  
Your style, your smile, your peace mentality__  
Lord, have mercy on me  
I was blind, now I can see  
What a king's supposed to be  
Baby I feel__free__, come on and go with me__  
_

The park was the only place in Metal City that wasn't at least partially covered in metal. Despite being in the middle of a metal jungle, the wildlife survived. It was very cultivated. A moat ran along the outside of the park. Families of wood ducks made their homes here. Many flickies also made their nests in this park and chirped their songs to visitors. The allure was like a dream. It was like fire in a place devoid of heat or paint in a place devoid of color. It reminded them that the world was still alive._  
_

_Your background, it ain't squeaky clean, shit__  
__Sometimes we all got to swim upstream__  
__You ain't no saint, we all are sinners__  
__But you put your good foot down and make your soul a winner__I respect that, man you're so phat__  
__And you're all that, plus supreme__  
__Then you're humble man I'm numb__  
__Yo with feeling, I can feel everything that you bring_

Knuckles and Rouge took a stroll through the park. They fed the flickies with a few croutons that he had slipped in his pocket back at the restaurant. Knuckles chuckled as one of the baby flickies came and landed on his shoulder. The soft tweets of the flicky seemed to melt away all of his problems as the sweet melody played by the flicky seemed to go with the guitarist.

_Let's take a long walk around the park after dark  
Find a spot for us to spark, conversation, verbal elation, stimulation  
Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations  
Elevations, maybe we can talk about revelations 31:18_

Or maybe we can see a movie  
Or maybe we can see a play on Saturday  
Or maybe we can roll a tree

_And feel the breeze and listen to a symphony  
Or maybe chill and just be, or maybe_

Maybe we can take a cruise and listen to the Roots  
Or maybe eat some passion fruit  
Or maybe cry to the blues  
Or maybe we could just be silent.

_Come on let's take a long walk around the park after dark__  
__Find a spot for us _to spark_, conversation, verbal elation, stimulation__  
__Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations__  
__Elevations, maybe baby, maybe we can save the nation__  
__Come on, come on_

Rouge saw some apples in one of the trees in the park. She flew up, grabbed one for herself, and threw one down to Knuckles, who caught it with the spikes on his fist.

"Thanks," said Knuckles as he bit into the apple.

"Don't mention it," said Rouge.

"Today has been wonderful. Why can't every day be like this?" Knuckles asked.

"Because you're not with me everyday," said Rouge with a smile.

They both sat under the apple tree. They sat real close to each other and sat so they could see the path that led around the park. They watched as the street lights in the park had come alive, revealing that night was upon them. The moon had also just been awakened from its slumber. It was slowly gaining altitude. There had been a long silence between them as they devoured their apples. Rouge looked over at Knuckles who was looking up at the moon with a curious gaze.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Rouge.

"A lot. I've been doing some thinking," said Knuckles.

"That must've been a first for you huh," said Rouge playfully elbowing Knuckles in the side. Only this time, Knuckles didn't so much as crack a smirk. "You're serious."

"Rouge, what do you want out of life?" he asked.

"Simple. I just want to live," she said.

"Huh?"

"I want to live a full life and witness all types of new experiences and sensations," said Rouge.

"That sounds like something Sonic would say," said Knuckles.

"But it's a good philosophy to live by. You should try it sometimes," she said.

"Maybe."

"What's stopping you?" she asked.

"My duties as guardian of the Master Emerald," said Knuckles. "I can't abandon my post."

"Why do you even need a post? I've seen you shrink the Master Emerald's size. Why can't you just carry it around with you?" she asked.

"I'd be a security risk. It's a lot safer keeping it hidden in the air rather than walking around with it in clear sight." Knuckles looked away. "It's just too dangerous."

"Sure it is. That's part of life, though. Don't fret it. Embrace it. It's the only way to break the lock on your mind that's telling you following your own heart will lead to selfdestruction," said Rouge.

Knuckles was dumbfounded by Rouge's words. He couldn't even respond.

"Wow! I surprised myself with that. Maybe that's why I don't drink too often," she said with a chortle.

"It needed to be said, though. Thanks Rouge. It's just that my father has always told me to guard the Master Emerald from anything that could harm it. It was my sworn duty to protect it and the island for as long as I shall live."

Rouge eased over closer to Knuckles. They were shoulder to shoulder. The warmth from Knuckles' body was giving off a very unique feel to her. It felt perfect like the temperature of your greatest showers. Their gazes both concentrated on the stars above them in the night sky. Despite Metal City being full of light, amidst the life of the park, the stars did shine bright down upon the life below.

"What was your father like?" she asked.

"I can't remember really. It's been a long time since I've seen him. I do know that my father was the one who taught me to hunt and fight. He showed me the ways of our tribe and taught me how to live off the land," said Knuckles. A big smile came across his face like the ones you get when you recall some of your most cherished memories.

"He sounds like he was quite the echidna. What happened to him?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles looked down. "He disappeared a long time ago one day when he went to gather some water from below and he never returned. I searched high and low for him. I searched the entire Mystic Ruins for him from top to bottom. I couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. Eventually I had to face the facts."

Rouge looked over and could see a tear forming in his eye. He closed his eyes as soon as he felt his eyes start to well up with tears. He gave his best effort to hold back a tear and eventually succeeded. He then reopened his eyes. His eyes were red but not perspiring. Rouge grabbed his hand and took it into her hers. She gave it a big squeeze.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm pretty sure that your father was a great echidna, but I'm also sure that he didn't mean for you to grow up alone either. But that doesn't mean that you always have to be alone. You were there for me when I needed you on Space Colony Ark. Let me be here for you now." Knuckles looked up at Rouge, whose face was wet with tears now freely flowing. She was holding onto Knuckles' hand tight as ever. "You don't have to be alone anymore. I want to be at your side fighting your battles with you in your corner always because... well, I'm in love with you, Knuckles the Echidna."

Knuckles' eyes shot wide open upon that remark. It seemed to come out of nowhere but it turned his world upside down. It's as if his brain was still trying to process what was said. "You...love me?"

"If it isn't love, it's the closest a person can get to liking someone," she said.

Knuckles smiled. He was actually kind of flattered by the fact that Rouge was in love with him. It made him feel good about his look. His look suddenly turned to confusion, however.

"If you're in love with me, why are you always trying to steal my Master Emerald?" he asked inquisitively.

"It started out with me wanting your emerald, but eventually I stopped caring about that and found something better to start caring about. I started coming just so I could be around you. Plus, sparring with you was a good way for me to get some exersise.

"We do have some good fights ," said Knuckles.

"Damn straight we did," she said. "I guess that somewhere down the line, it turned into love," she said. "So don't you think for a second that I'd leave you alone because I won't."

Knuckles looked stunned. "Wow!" was all he could say. He had a barrage of mixed emotions rushing through his veins. Rouge had dropped the bomb on him and he did nor know how to act.

"I hope that was a good Wow!"

Knuckles was searching everywhere for the right words. Finally, he just decided to tell the truth. "...Well, I'll be honest with you. Over the years, I've grown to care about you a lot. In fact, I would never let anything happen to you, but I'm not sure if I feel the same way as you. I'm sorry, Rouge."

Knuckles looked over and could see the tears resurfacing on Rouge's face. He turned away instantly because he could not bear to see her cry anymore. Instead, Knuckles wrapped an arm around Rouge and pulled her in close allowing her to cry into the crescent mark on his chest. "Please try to understand. I do have love for you. I just don't feel the same way. This was so sudden. I'm sorry for making you cry. That was the last thing I meant to do. Please know that I won't ever leave your side either." Knuckles caressed the back of her head as she lay crying into his chest. Even though Rouge knew it wasn't real, the passion and love that she felt when she was this close to Knuckles was irreplaceable. She cherished the moment. "Please stop crying. I can't bear to see you like this."

"It's better that I do it now than later," said Rouge. "I'm not a big griever," she said through teared eyes. She even managed to scurry up a small smile.

* * *

A little ways away, Crystal was sitting on a park bench with some Prada Sunglasses on tinted jet black. These weren't regular sunglasses, however. These glasses were capable of nightvision, infared vision, and enhanced zooming. Crystal was sitting on the bench, legs crossed. She used a blade that was attached on her cufflink and cut up a worm that she had in a cardboard box with her. She succeeded in cutting the worm into seven even individual servings. Then, she tossed the pieces of worm in front of her and waited as flickies came from the trees to dine on the worm remains. She started to smile when something caught her line of sight. She tuned her sunglasses so that they could zoom in. Almost halfway across the park from where she was under a tree sat Knuckles and Rouge cuddled close together. Crystal immediately developed a smirk.

"What an interesting development," she said. "I hope that feels good to you, Rouge because its the last time you're going to feel anything." She took another fat worm from the box and sliced its head off.

After beheading that worm, she pulled out her cell phone and made a call.

(Ring)

"_Have you found them, my love?"_

"Is that any way to answer the phone when someone calls you?" she said.

"_Now is not the time for pleasantries. We have important business to handle tonight. The moon is coming. Can't you feel it?"_

Crystal scoffed. "Yes, I found them. They're in the park huddled up together like lost kittens. I wish I had my sniper rifle handy."

"_My love, a quick victory would not be honorable. We must prolong this hunt for a little while longer. Before the kill, the predator must first soften up his prey,"_ Valon said. "Here's the plan."

The smile on Crystal's full lips grew wider and wider as the plan was foretold. "Tonight, we end this!"

* * *

_No amount of apologizing will excuse my absence from Fanfiction as of late. It's truly unexcusable. I didn't want to say it but I really had quit fanfiction for some time. At first, I didn't have time to write. Then, when I would finally have time to write, I would have forgotten all about my writing responsibilites. A few of my fellow authors on this site had some really inspirational things to say to me that brought me back on my feet. I'll keep the names anonymous but thank you for your concern. I still read all my PMs. I can't say what's planned for my future but I know that I at least owe conclusions to the stories that I have already started. That includes Sins of the Father II and Doing Hard Time. So I'll be back in the lab for a while anyway writing the good write. Until next time._

_Song Credits: Jill Scott- A Long Walk_

_I really recommend that everyone listen to this song. It's jamming. And for those of you who really hate rap, don't worry. This isn't any rap song. It's smooth._

_ICY KNUCKLES_

"


End file.
